Subterfuge
by JMS529
Summary: Marshall is sent undercover to infiltrate a crime organization by Allison. His insticts tell him he's being set up. His friends and family struggle with what they believe happened to him while looking for those responsible.
1. Chapter 1

**Thanks to BuJyo for betaing this story. Always appreciate the help.**

**Warning Major Angst in this story and spoilers for Season 3.**

**Disclaimer is the usual. Still do not own the characters or Mary and Marshall would already be together. **

**Subterfuge**

Marshall stared at the ceiling in his bedroom thinking about the definition of subterfuge. _Subterfuge__:__ a deception by artifice or stratagem in order to conceal, escape, or evade a deceptive device or stratagem. Stratagem__:__ an artifice or trick in war for deceiving and outwitting the enemy, or a cleverly contrived trick or scheme for gaining an end. _The definitions were making his stomach more nauseous as he prepared for his subterfuge.

The thought of what this would do to his family and friends tore at his heart. To Marshall this was a betrayal of the worst kind, but he had to do this in order to protect those he cared about. Hopefully, when this ended he would get a chance to explain why he did it, and they would forgive him.

The phone call he had been dreading came in as he left the Sunshine Building that night, sending him into this tizzy. The code word was given for the operation to begin. Marshall could no longer pretend his meeting with Allison Pearson never took place, the ill gotten 'prison transport' while Mary worked with Faber.

His thoughts drifted back to what happened when he left Albuquerque that day.

_Marshall was flown to Leavenworth where he was to pick up the prisoner and go with them to Chicago, before heading home. The trial was supposed to last a week to a week and a half. When the plane touched down in Leavenworth he was picked up in a standard Marshal Service SUV. When they passed the turnoff for the prison he became concerned. It was then he knew something wasn't right. When they turned and headed to a warehouse, he noticed Allison Pearson waiting for his arrival._

"_Marshall, welcome to Leavenworth. Follow me please. I'm sure you have several questions. We'll discuss the reason for the secrecy shortly," Allison said._

"_Alright," Marshall replied, perplexed._

"_Relax, Marshall," Allison said, as she pushed the door open to the warehouse._

_Marshall looked around the__ inside of the warehouse. He noticed the board covered with pictures and information attached to it. This was an offsite planning room. His curiosity was peaked, but something had his senses on alert._

"_Take a seat, Marshall, we'll debrief you shortly," Allison ordered._

_Marshall grabbed a seat. He felt out of place immediately. He took in the details of the room and information that he could see. The operation wasn't a prison transport from what he could see of the documents. Allison was the only person in the room he knew. He'd worked with the Topeka office several times in the past and not a single person in this room was from there. Nothing was adding up, and he hoped Allison shed light on this quickly._

_Allison tossed a folder towards him. "Marshall, the reason you were brought here is because you fit the bill for the kind of person we need to go undercover for an operation. Our target is Octavius Falcon and his right hand man, Rupert 'Shady' Burrows. They're mixed up in several different rackets. Arms and drug smuggling, money laundering, counterfeiting and human trafficking are their areas of expertise."_

_Marshall still wasn't sure what this had to do with him. This sounded more like ATF, FBI or DEA/DHS; at best Fugitive Task Force to help with the bust._

"_I'm here for what part in this?" Marshall asked, confused._

"_We need a man on the inside who can work his way around a computer system while being an accurate shot. Octavius is looking to replace his last computer expert. We managed to secure a source that will arrange an interview for you. Once our source gets the green light for the interview, you'll be sent a message letting you know the operation is starting."_

_Marshall didn't like the way that was phrased. "What kind of source, exactly?"_

"_The kind you don't need to know about." _

"_There is a lot of information to go through. Take the file back to your hotel room, read it and we'll discuss it in detail tomorrow. Do _**_not _**_share the information with anyone. That includes your partner and boss. I want no one informed about this operation except for the people in this room," Allison said._

"_What am I supposed to tell Stan, when I suddenly disappear for awhile?" Marshall asked._

"_I'll handle Stan," Allison replied, while handing him a set of car keys._

_Marshall drove to the hotel Allison had set him up in and laid his gear and folder on the bed. The secrecy part including Stan and Mary bothered him. Why wouldn't she want Stan to know she was sending him undercover for an operation? For that matter, why did she call him directly and not go through Stan? The Director doesn't usually send them messages, they go through the Chief._

_Marshall headed down the hallway to get some ice for his room while trying to organize his thoughts. It was then that he noticed someone watching him. Marshall discreetly managed to catch a glimpse of the man, and realized it was someone he'd seen briefly in the planning room. Allison must have sent someone to keep an eye on him. He was trained to notice the details, why Allison thought sending someone to spy on him would work was beyond him. The fact that they did caused Marshall to form a plan of his own. Something about this operation wasn't right and he wanted to cover his ass before going into it. He thought about turning down the job, but he was under the impression that wasn't going to be an option._

_Grabbing his cell phone, he texted his former college roommate, who happened to be on the Leavenworth SWAT team. Jack Carter and Marshall had both been studying law enforcement and shared several classes together. They had been paired up with an assignment to develop methods of covert communication that could cross technological barriers._

_The two had spent hours coming up with elaborate plans and ciphers. He hoped Jack remembered the codes. He sent a text to Jack requesting a recording and video device that was small enough to go unnoticed, but would pick up everything being said in the planning room._

_A couple hours after the text went out, there was a knock on the door._

"_Pizza delivery."_

_Marshall smiled, recognizing Jack's voice. He'd already written down the information he wanted to tell him. Opening the door, he barely managed to hide the smirk on his face. Jack looked hysterical in the delivery outfit._

"_Thanks for the fast service," Marshall replied, as he placed his finger over his lips and pointed to his ears._

_Jack nodded while handing the pizza box over to Marshall. Marshall handed him some money with a note inside telling him what was going on, and that he might be sending him a package that needed to go to one Bobby Dershowitz on the special task force team in Chicago. _

"_Thanks, sir. Have a happy and safe stay here," Jack replied._

"_Will do," Marshall said, knowing Jack was telling him to be careful. He then shut the door and opened the pizza box._

_All the items he'd requested were there, with the addition of a cell phone and a note from Jack._

_Opening the note, Marshall read it._

_Cell phone is non traceable, use it to send me messages if you need to. If you need help I'm willing to do it. You're obviously in some pickle if you're asking for this equipment. Stay safe, buddy._

_Marshall ripped up the note and flushed it down the toilet. He came back out and read over the assignment. The FBI or ATF had to have an agent qualified to do this. They have computer specialists that are trained to fire weapons also. The story they were selling him was bogus. The problem was he didn't know if it was for the right or wrong reasons. Heading to bed,] he tossed and turned all night as both scenarios played out in his mind._

Returning his thoughts to the present, Marshall got up and headed to his garage. As instructed, he left his gun, badge and cell phone there. Switching to the SUV he'd been given by Allison, he made sure that his bag and new identity were with him. He left the driveway and was half way down the road when his house exploded.

"Damn it!" Marshall hissed.

Pretending he was dead was part of the plan, but no one said anything about blowing up his house. He was still cursing in his head as he headed out of Albuquerque on his way to Atlanta. The plan was for him to stop in Little Rock to exchange cars and meet up with a team member for any additional information that had been gathered since Leavenworth.

Marshall had used the equipment Jack had given him to record the entire debriefing by Allison. If he didn't make it back from this, he wanted to bring down anyone who set him up. At least with the audio and video it showed his family and friends he didn't get into this mess voluntarily. More importantly, he didn't want to tarnish the Mann name within the U.S Marshal Service. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Mary was sleeping when her cell phone began to ring. Picking it up, she silently cursed Stan.

"What?" she snapped.

"Mary, there's been an explosion at Marshall's house. I'm on my way there now," Stan said.

Mary froze at his words.

"I'm on my way," Mary replied, while quickly getting dressed.

Mary was grabbing her badge, gun and cell as she made a mad dash for the door. She almost missed Scott and Brandi sitting and laughing about something on the sofa.

Brandi saw the look on Mary's face, "What's wrong?"

"I have to go," Mary said. It was all she could do to make herself move. Fear gripped her heart, and a part of her was scared to death of what she would find at Marshall's house.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Stan arrived at the scene, and what he saw numbed his insides. There was very little of Marshall's house left. It looked like a controlled explosion, since his neighbors houses were not on fire, but suffered minor damage. If Marshall had been in there, he wouldn't survive. No one can survive that kind of damage.

Stan had called Marshall's cell on his way there, but it went directly to voice mail. Moving through the firefighters, he went to find the person in charge of the scene. He wanted answers and he wanted them now.

Seeing the fire captain directing orders, he walked over to him and flashed his badge.

"Captain, I'm Chief Inspector Stan McQueen with the U. S. Marshal's Service. I need to ask you a few questions."

The captain barked out a few more orders before turning his attention to Stan.

"What do you need?"

"I need to know if my inspector was in his home at the time of the explosion." Stan didn't miss the grim look on the man's face.

"I'm sorry, sir, but a body was pulled out and taken away," the chief replied.

"My inspector is a little over six feet tall, blue eyes, his hair…" Stan was cut off.

"No disrespect, Chief, but there wasn't much left to identify. They are going to have to do use dental records to confirm the identity of the body," the captain felt bad for the man, as he saw him turn pale.

"What caused the explosion?" Stan asked.

"The blast appears to have been sudden, but we won't know the exact cause until we can get in and investigate further. Your man didn't stand a chance. The blast was big enough to destroy the home and anything in it, while keeping the damage to a minimum on the surrounding homes. In my years of experience that would be a pro. A normal person wouldn't know how to contain a blast that well."

"Thank you, Captain," Stan said softly. He turned to walk away and noticed Mary running through the firemen, working her way towards him.

"Stan, what the hell?" Mary asked, stunned by the vision of what was left of Marshall's house.

Stan didn't want to do this. Mary losing Marshall would destroy her. It was like taking away half of what made her whole. Before he could tell her, she spoke up.

"Where's Doofus? What hospital did they take him to?"

Stan closed his eyes for a second. Taking a deep breath he began, "Mary, they removed a body from the house. There wasn't enough of it left to make identification. They're going to have to use Marshall's dental records to determine if it was him."

Mary shook her head no and began to back away from Stan.

"He promised he wouldn't die on me. Marshall doesn't break his promises. It's not him. It's **_not _**him," Mary insisted, heatedly.

"Mary, we don't know if it was him. Right now they need to finish up here. Their inspectors will go over everything. The morgue won't have any information for us tonight. Let's go back to the office and start going over anyone who would want to hurt Marshall," Stan said, needing to turn Mary's focus on the task at hand.

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Marshall had pulled over at a rest stop where he changed into jeans and a t-shirt. Looking for a pharmacy, he found a Walgreens and pulled in. Putting a baseball cap on, he headed to the hair dye aisle. Allison had given him non prescription contact lenses that would change his eye color to green. Grabbing several snacks, he continued driving until he hit Little Rock, Arkansas late the next day. Stretching his body as he got out of the car he questioned his determination to make the remaining thirteen hours non-stop

Finding a hotel, Marshall grabbed a room for the night. He had plenty of time before he was expected in Georgia.

Bringing his gear into the room, he plopped the bag on the floor before crawling on top of the bed. Guilt prevented him from a good night's sleep. Thoughts of his mother grieving and Mary thinking he abandoned her haunted him.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Stan and Mary spent the entire night going over all of Marshall's cases. It satisfied two goals for them. One to try and find the person responsible for blowing up Marshall's home and two the distraction of not having to think about the body being Marshall's.

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Dr. Bob Franks the ME for the city of Albuquerque, looked at the remains of the charred body on the table. He felt bad for anyone who had to suffer that kind of death. He had begun to work on the dental identification and DNA tests, when a woman walked in wearing a U.S. Marshal badge. "Dr. Franks?" the female asked.

"Yes," Franks replied.

"I'm Director Allison Pearson of U.S. Marshal Service. You're working on a case that I need you to help me with. The body that you're trying to identify needs to be identified as that of U.S. Marshal Marshall Mann. It's extremely important to our case. No one is to know about this conversation. It's important to the safety of one of my inspectors."

"Director Pearson, what you're asking is highly out of the ordinary and illegal. It would require me to submit false information for an ongoing case. I could get fired for that," Franks replied, not liking what was being said.

"You won't be in trouble. It's sanctioned by the Marshal Service for the purposes of the investigation. You will not be fired. If anyone has any questions or concerns you can direct them to my number, and I'll take care of it. This information must stay between you and me," Allison insisted.

"You'll take full responsibility for the actions of this case?" Franks asked, just to make sure.

"Yes," Allison insisted.

"Alright," Franks agreed, reluctantly. "Do you have a business card?"

"I appreciate you're help," Allison said, handing Dr. Franks her card. "You'll need to call Stan McQueen in regards to your findings. He's Marshall's boss. I cannot emphasize enough that he be told it's Marshall. You and I are the only ones to know this conversation took place, until further notice."

Franks nodded in agreement and watched Allison as she left the room. Something still didn't feel right about this. Mulling it over in his mind for awhile, he sat down and typed up the true findings on how the corpse died. He listed everything in detail, and then made a copy for himself with notes of the name, time and person from the U. S. Marshals Office that had given him his instructions. Attaching a copy of the business card to the report, he placed it into a secure location. There was no way he wasn't covering his butt on this. Something was nagging at him and he wanted to preserve the correct information for the case.

With all of that done, he made the call to Chief Inspector McQueen as instructed by Director Pearson. Not knowing why this was all happening or the need for secrecy was causing the ME heartburn. In all his years in this position, he'd never had a request to lie to the boss of a law enforcement official; especially by their own boss. Picking up the phone, he called the number he was given and waited.

Stan, Mary and Charlie were still digging through Marshall's cases when Stan's office phone rang.

"McQueen."

"Sir, I am calling in regards to the body found at the scene of an explosion last night," Dr. Franks said. He couldn't help but feel guilty about what he was doing.

"Were you able to identify the body?" Stan asked.

"Yes, sir. I regret to inform you the dental records match that of one Marshall Mann."

Stan felt like his heart stopped. He slowly sank into the chair and began to rub his hand over his forehead.

"Are you sure?" Stan cursed himself for choking on the last word.

"Yes," the ME replied, hesitantly.

"Did he suffer?" Stan needed to know.

"No sir. It was quick for him." The ME didn't want to make things harder for the man.

"Thank you. Could you please fax your findings to me?" Stan asked, giving the man the fax number.

"I'll have that over to you right away, sir."

Stan hung up the phone, a part of him wanting to cry for the surrogate son he just lost. He needed to call Marshall's family and inform Mary. He wasn't sure which would be worse. Grabbing the phone he dialed Seth.

"Mann residence," Seth greeted.

"Seth, this is Stan McQueen."

Seth knew something was wrong by Stan's voice.

"What happened to my son?"

"Marshall was killed last night in an explosion at his home," Stan said, noticing his voice sounded strange even to him.

Seth closed his eyes as he took in the information. He tried to drown out those blue eyes that looked up to him in adoration as a child.

"What kind of explosion?"

"The non accidental type. We're going through Marshall's case loads. The ME just called."

"How'd they identify him?" Seth wasn't stupid. This had to have been one of two ways. Since Stan didn't call right away, he knew it meant they weren't sure who the body was.

"Dental records." Stan felt a chill run through his body, images of how Marshall died haunting him.

"Carolyn and I will be on the first flight out to make the arrangements."

"Call me if you need anything."

"I need my son's killer or killers brought to justice," Seth replied.

Seth walked into his office and pulled Marshall's drawing out of his briefcase. Thoughts of his son filled his mind. He should have been more loving towards Marshall. He hoped Marshall knew how much he loved him. Anger filled his heart at thoughts of his son's murderer. His son didn't deserve to die that way. Seth wished he stayed longer in Albuquerque to repair his and Marshall's relationship. He knew it was his doing. He didn't, or couldn't, relate to Marshall, and he should've made more of an effort to try. Taking a deep breath, he went in search of his wife. He would need to tell her. They would have to call Avery and Tripp to let them know their brother was dead.

Seth turned to head out of the room when he saw the picture of Marshall he had on a shelf. He picked it up, recalling what he said to Mary. Marshall always had those eyes and that face since the day he was born. He never told Marshall he was proud of him. Setting the picture back down he took several deep breaths before heading towards the kitchen to tell Carolyn. The loss of Marshall would shatter his wife; he'd need to be strong to pick up the pieces.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Stan hung up the phone and took a few minutes to pull himself together before informing Mary. He wasn't ready to do this. He didn't want to do this. The clock needed to be turned back to yesterday. They could stop Marshall from going home. Finally getting up, he headed back to the conference room.

Mary looked up and felt a hole forming in her heart. She knew what Stan was going to say by the haunted look in his eyes.

"**_NO!_**" Mary shook her head and felt the panic begin to rise.

"The ME just identified the body as Marshall's," Stan knew he couldn't comfort Mary. The only person that could wasn't here.

"The ME is wrong. He can't be gone. He wouldn't leave me. He promised." Mary felt the tears spilling from her eyes even as she tried to deny it.

"Mary…" Stan hurt for her.

"Don't," she warned as he came near her. "I need to get out of here."

Stan nodded as Mary dashed out of the room. Going to her desk, she grabbed her keys, gun and badge and escaped down the stairs.

Half way down the stairs she stopped. Grabbing the rail for support, she tried to get herself to breathe. It felt like everything was collapsing in around her. Her vision blurred as the tears filled her eyes. Nothing had ever hurt this much before; not even her father's abandonment. Forcing herself to take deep, calming breaths, she finally managed to escape the stairwell and ran out to her Mustang. Throwing it into reverse, she fled the Sunshine Building.


	2. Chapter 2

Stan went into his office closed the door and blinds shortly after Mary left. Sitting at his desk, he looked at the photo of Marshall, Mary, Eleanor and him that had been taken at an office gathering. They all looked so happy. He wished he could have Mary's feelings of denial, but right now all he felt was empty and scared. He'd lost his surrogate son and was now afraid he'd lose Mary emotionally. The walls Marshall had tore down piece by piece would be built back up, but this time Mary would make sure they were impenetrable. His eyes again returned to the photo, but this time he let the pain take over. He felt his shoulders shake as the tears streaked down his face.

A half hour later he pulled himself together and started to make some phone calls. The rest of Marshall's other family needed to know. Dialing, he started with Bobby before calling Eleanor. He knew he'd need to hear her voice longer. She knew how he felt about Mary and Marshall. She'd be able to offer the comfort he so desperately needed.

/

Mary stormed into the house, tears streaking down her face. Hard as she tried to fight them, they wouldn't stop. She never even saw Brandi and Peter sitting on the couch. Entering the kitchen, she began to open and slam the cupboards looking for something to take away the pain. She knew there was alcohol in here somewhere. She just had to find it.

Her anger intensified as she couldn't find the bottle of Jack Daniels she'd hidden. The longer it took the more the rage consumed her, and she finally gave up and began punching and kicking the refrigerator door. It became the face of the unknown enemy that needed to pay for taking away Marshall.

Peter and Brandi became alarmed, and moved into the kitchen to try and stop her.

"Mary, what's wrong?" Brandi asked, but Mary didn't seem to hear her.

"Mary, you're going to hurt yourself," Peter said loudly.

Mary didn't answer. She heard the voices talking to her, but they weren't what she needed. They wouldn't understand, so she shut them out.

"Brandi, call Marshall." Peter said moving towards Mary to stop her from hurting herself.

Brandi noticed Mary flinch at Marshall's name before swinging harder at the refrigerator. She briefly wondered if they had a major fight as she reached for Mary's phone on the counter. Peter finally managed to get his arms around her and pulled her kicking and screaming away from the fridge. Brandi knew Peter wouldn't be able to contain her for too long.

When Marshall's phone kept going into voicemail, Brandi left a message before dialing Stan's number. He's the only other person Brandi could think of that would know what to do.

"McQueen."

Brandi hesitated a second, Stan's voice sounded funny to her.

"Mr. McQueen, I'm sorry to bother you, but Mary has gone off the deep end and I can't get a hold of Marshall. I don't know what to do. She was beating up the fridge. Peter pulled her away from it, but she's still fighting him and won't calm down. Marshall's the only one who can calm her down and I can't get a hold of him."

"Marshall…" Stan started, but choked on the words before closing his eyes. "Marshall's dead."

Brandi was shocked by the news. Her eyes darted to Mary quickly and finally understood what was wrong.

"What do I do?" Brandi asked, her eyes filling with tears.

"Keep her from hurting herself until I get there. I'm leaving now," Stan said.

Twenty minutes later Mary was still struggling against Peter and he was having a hard time hanging onto her. Stan came in and tapped Peter's shoulder and indicated to let her go. Mary lurched forward when she felt herself released, but screamed in anger as a different pair of arms restrained her.

"That's enough, inspector," Stan said, using his commanding voice.

Mary stopped struggling, but couldn't stop the scream from escaping her lips.

"Marshall!"

Stan closed his eyes to fight his own tears as he heard the agony in Mary's voice. His arms held her tightly as the scream turned into sobs. Not really knowing how to even begin to soothe her, he whispered words that deep down he knew were lies. Nothing would ever be all right again.

Brandi buried her head in Peter's chest she clung to Peter for support. Mary was the rock when things fell apart, and she didn't know how to fix what was broken. It had never been her responsibility.

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Marshall woke to the sun streaming in from behind the hotel blinds. Getting up, he headed into the bathroom with his purchases and began the masquerade.

The black hair and green eyes in the mirror were strange for him to see. Retreating back to the bed he sat down and turned on the news. He caught a glimpse of the top news stories for the day. They announced the death of a U.S. Marshal in Albuquerque and he closed his eyes, trying to not think about the pain this was causing those he cared about.

"I'm so sorry, everyone," he whispered, knowing they couldn't hear him, but needing to say the words anyways. Shutting the TV off, he grabbed his gear and headed out to the truck.

Marshall found the drop off point and was given a car to take him to Atlanta. The agent handed him a note from Allison, while mentioning no new intelligence had been gathered for the mission.

Marshall got into the car and headed towards Atlanta. He would stop along the way to check the car for bugs, and read the note from Allison. His instinct was screaming 'set up', and he knew not to ignore it. It was why he made sure to take extra precautions in case he didn't come out of this alive.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Mary woke up the next morning, showered and dressed as per her standard ritual. It wasn't until she reached for her badge that reality came crashing down on her. Marshall was dead. His parents and brothers were flying in this morning to make the funeral arrangements. She had to sit down as she felt herself shaking. It took several minutes before she was able to get the shaking under control.

"Find who killed him and keep it together until it's over. Marshall would want you to be strong for his family," Mary said softly to herself before heading out to kitchen.

Brandi and Peter looked up as she entered the kitchen.

"Mary, you're going to work?" Brandi asked, surprised.

"Yeah, Squish. I have a job. I go to work almost every day," Mary replied irritably.

"Don't you think it's kind of soon after last night?"

"The longer we put off finding the killer or killers, the better chance they have at escaping. I'll see you later." Mary grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder. Getting into the Mustang she put the key in the ignition and took a few deep breaths.

"Just breathe. You can do this. You have to do this. Marshall needs you to do this for him. He deserves justice." Mary tried to encourage herself. She put the car in reverse and headed to work.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Marshall drove for six hours before pulling over at a truck stop in Birmingham, Alabama. He filled the car with gas, grabbed bottled water and munchies. Checking the car over, he discovered a well placed GPS trackers on it.

This just kept getting better. He knew Allison would say he was being tracked for extra security measures and they would need to be able to find him in a hurry if something went wrong. He doubted that was the real reason. Nothing about this 'mission,' as Allison called it, made sense.

Getting in the car, Marshall read Allison's note.

_Octavius and Shady are expecting "Wayne Simmons" to arrive tomorrow. Remember geek with a gun that can get them the information they want. The program we gave you will help you access the information that will get them to their merchandise, while helping you gain their trust. You must make it to their headquarters in order for this mission to be a success. We need to catch them going after the higher, more lethal end of the __merchandise scale. Rumor is they'll start you on the low end with nickel and dime stuff. This will lead to the arms, drugs and human trafficking level. Call the number I left you, if you need back up. Text me with any updates that you have, and I will forward it onto the proper connections. No contact with anyone but me. It's vital for the mission._

Marshall saved the note, mentally reminding himself to stop at a grocery store or someplace where he could send the package to Jack without looking suspicious. Pulling out of the gas station, he continued toward Atlanta and Octavius.

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Swiping her access card, Mary walked into the office. As she entered the room she could see Stan talking to Seth and two other men. She had a feeling these were Marshall's brothers. Stan looked up and saw her and signaled her to come join them.

Mary walked in, one look at the two men and she knew that her assumptions were correct.

"Seth," she greeted, not knowing what else to say.

"Mary," Seth nodded, not acknowledging the pain that flashed briefly in her eyes. It was quickly replaced by the mask she wore to keep her pain hidden. That's how Marshall once described Mary's reaction to things that hurt her. It was one of the few Sunday conversations they had that hadn't been about his mother's latest knitting projects.

"These are my sons, Avery and Tripp."

"What have you found out so far?" Seth asked.

"Not a lot," Stan said. He then relayed the information the captain had given them.

"We're looking into all possible suspects."

"You have nothing, basically, except my brother's charred body?" Tripp said, heatedly. His pain had manifested into anger.

Mary winced at the crudity of the statement before snapping.

"Don't you _dare _talk about Marshall that way!"

"Tripp, enough!" Seth bit out at the same time.

"But…" Tripp began to argue.

"Your brother is dead. It isn't their fault. They are working with what they have. They cared about him too. If I ever hear you refer to your brother's body in that way again…I will not tolerate it. You're still my son and if you think I can't or won't punish you then you never paid attention growing up," Seth hissed. He couldn't believe Tripp said something so callous.

"What did the autopsy report show?" Avery asked, trying to prevent a fight from breaking out.

"The explosion killed him immediately. The fire marshal will be sending a copy of his findings over to us as soon as they are finished going over Marshall's house. It looked to be a controlled explosion," Stan replied.

"We've separated Marshall's case loads into three different categories. We're working our way through them now. We'll do the standard routine by starting with the most likely and working our way down to the least likely," Mary said.

"If there is anything we can do to help find Marshall's killer or killers, please call one of us. I know we can't do anything involving his cases, but if it's not related to his job, we might be able to help," Tripp replied. Looking at his watch they had to get going to the funeral home. "Dad, we need to go if we're picking up Mom before heading to the funeral home."

"Call us with the arrangements. We have a few friends from out of state that would like to attend Marshall's service with us," Stan said.

"I'll call as soon as we have them made," Seth replied.

Mary waited till the elevator doors closed before turning to Stan, confused.

"Who do we have coming from out of state?"

"Eleanor and Dershowitz want to attend."

Mary nodded, "Who do you want to start with?"

"I have Charlie checking over all the people Marshall's arrested to see if any of them have been released from prison or if any family members have recently arrived in Albuquerque. What I need you to do is double check with his witnesses. Make sure nothing out of the ordinary happened with them. See if they saw anyone suspicious hanging around or noticed someone that seemed out of place. Mary, play nice with them."

Mary huffed before heading out; she didn't want to talk to his witnesses. She wanted to locate and kill the person who took her Marshall away.

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Marshall had gone to the grocery store to for supplies and to mail Jack the package.

Gathering up his supplies, he headed back to the hotel. Confirming the tail that he suspected on the way back, he pretended not to notice and slipped into his room.

Once in the room he shut the blinds partially. The car had driven by when he entered the parking lot, but was now sitting in the parking lot. He wanted to snap a photo of them, but there was no way to do it without the blinds interfering or him being obvious to what he was doing. Reaching into his bag, he grabbed his folder on Octavius and Shady out. He was meeting them tonight at nine, and needed to be prepared.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Stan was on the phone when Mary returned to the office. She headed straight for her desk.

"Thank you, Seth. I'll let Mary know the arrangements."

Stan walked out to Mary's desk.

"Seth called. The wake will be in three days followed by the funeral the next morning. They will have a luncheon afterwards at the Hyatt Regency."

"Okay," Mary whispered.

"Mary, why don't you take the rest of the day off? It's getting late."

"I don't want to go home," Mary said, adamantly. Going home meant having time to think about her partner. The silly smirk, the light in those blue eyes, the trivia and the crazy pajama pants, they were all gone from her life now. She didn't know how to handle that. She needed to stay busy.

"You can't stay all night. A few more hours and we're both leaving." He saw the confusion in her eyes. "Eleanor is flying in tonight. Dershowitz will be flying in tomorrow morning. Marshall's mother would actually like to meet all of us before the funeral. She's heard our names, but would actually like to meet us before the wake."

"What time tomorrow?" Mary felt scared for some reason. What if his mom didn't like her? Marshall talked to his Mom every day. What would Mrs. Mann say to her about her son being dead? Mary knew if she wasn't handling it well, his mother must be devastated.

"Around eleven, Eleanor and Dershowitz will meet us here. We can all head over together."

Mary just nodded in understanding and went back to researching the information she had in front of her. Stan knew she was still trying to deny what happened. He knew it would be a short period of time before the walls Marshall had penetrated around her heart were built up again. He highly doubted she would let anyone get past her defenses again. His greatest fear would be watching her slowly fade away from them all, and one day her solitude would get her killed. Without Marshall there to anchor her, the scenario seemed all too likely.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Marshall got up and prepared for his first meeting with Octavius and Shady. From all the intel that had been gathered, the two men were extremely cautious and paranoid. It would explain why they were having a hard time catching them. He would be watched now from both sides. He was going in today without any kind of wire to avoid suspicion. He briefly thought about using the one Jack gave him, but wasn't ready to risk getting caught and ending up dead somewhere. He hid it in within the electronic equipment he was bringing. No one would be any the wiser.

Marshall had bought a different 22 caliber gun before the assignment. He had found a Beretta 80 Series Cheetah pistol. The thought of using the Glock had crossed his mind, but since it was the standard Marshal Service issue, he didn't want Octavius to become suspicious. He also knew that when Mary and Stan stopped looking through his past and chased down his financials they'd find the purchase. Mary knew he had looked at the Beretta before. The two had debated if he should purchase it or not. Marshall had finally decided it didn't make sense as there was no practical need for it. Mary would get suspicious if she saw it on his financials. She knew him well enough to know that once he decided something he stuck to that decision. He just hoped they didn't find it until the mission was over. If they figured out that he was alive before the mission was over, it would defeat the purpose of his subterfuge. Allison had warned him about what she could do to his friends' careers and his dad's retirement if he were to bring them into this. He had the feeling Allison strongly underestimated his friends and family's determination in solving his 'murder'.

Checking his appearance to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything, he headed to his car. When he reached the warehouse he was stopped by four armed guards. After giving them the password, he was allowed to enter the parking area. He was then greeted by two more men who searched him and took his Beretta.

"Clean," the one man said, looking towards the one guarding the door.

"This way, Mr. Simmons." The guard opened the door and escorted Marshall through a corridor.

Marshall made a mental note of the security cameras' positions, along with how many men he'd seen. The guard knocked on the door before opening it.

"Wayne Simmons has arrived, sir."

"Send him in," a man's voice answered.

_Here we go,_ Marshall thought to himself before stepping into the office. There was one man sitting behind a desk, while the other was off to the right. Standard protocol would dictate that Octavius was the one behind the desk and the other was Shady. Marshall knew better because of the few pictures they did have of the two men. Wayne Simmons would not be expected to know who was who. This was his first test to see if he was legit. Time to play dumb.

"Mr. Falcon, it's a pleasure to meet you," he stated while looking at Shady.

The two men silently communicated to one another before Octavius moved in from the right.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, too. You have been highly recommended by a friend of a friend," Octavius stated.

Marshall forced himself to pretend to be embarrassed by the mistake.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to assume," he stammered out. He was hoping to get the geek impression going right away. "Easy enough mistake to make," Shady said, sizing up the new recruit.

"We have some questions we want to ask you, and then we'll take you to our shooting range to see if you're as good as your recommendation says you are," Octavius replied.

"Ask away," Marshall said, knowing he would have to show some backbone also. They needed to know they could count on him.

"How do you plan an extracting the information that we need from the various locations?" Octavius asked.

"I have a program that I wrote that'll allow me to get in and out undetected while gathering the information that you'll need."

"What kind of program?" Shady asked.

"I don't write and tell. Have to protect my line of work," Marshall said firmly.

"So you will give us this program to use?" Octavius asked.

"No, you want my program you work through me. When our work is complete the program goes away. The only way to use it is if I'm running it. I'm the only one who knows the operating code. It ensures my safety, while allowing me several job opportunities."

"Smart." Octavius said. "I like a person that knows how to operate a business. Let's see if your aim is as good as your business sense."

They led him down another corridor, through an opening and out into a back area. There were several different buildings that were well guarded. The building they entered contained a shooting range. Setting Marshall up in a lane, they gave him the Berretta back.

"Show me what you got," Octavius ordered.

Marshall moved to take his stance. He used an alternate stance that he'd been working on at a local shooting range in Albuquerque. These shots needed to be accurate, but couldn't be his regular shooting habits. His thoughts went to the firing range he had been practicing on. Remembering what he did there he fired off a magazine. Stepping back when he was done, he waited for them to say something.

Octavius and Shady pushed the button to bring the target to them for their review. Looking it over, they both smirked, liking the results immensely.

"Welcome to the team, Wayne Simmons. Shady will set you up with a place to bunk. Tomorrow we'll show you to your workstation. If your work is as good as you say it is, we'll see where we go from there," Octavius said.

"You won't be disappointed, sir," Marshall replied.

"Let's hope not. Shady, show him his quarters. Goodnight, Wayne." Octavius walked away.

"Follow me," Shady said.


	3. Chapter 3

Tomorrow had arrived too early for Mary. She had spent over an hour trying to figure out what to wear to meet Marshall's mother. Irritated that it even mattered to her, she continued to go through her wardrobe. After pulling most of her wardrobe out, she still wasn't sure what to wear.

"Brandi! Peter!" Mary called out loudly.

A few minutes later they both appeared. She could tell they were perplexed by all the clothes she had out.

"What are you doing?" Brandi asked.

"I don't know what to wear to meet Marshall's mom this morning." Mary's voice cracked a little on Marshall's name.

Peter knew why he was there. She could tell Brandi what she needed, but he was the more experienced at practical.

"Mary, just be you. Marshall liked you for who you are, and would want his mother to meet the woman he knew. Wear something you would to court. It's a combination of respectful and who you are," Peter shrugged.

"What do I say to her?" Mary asked insecurely. "I don't know how to do this. Marshall was always good at these things, not me."

"Tell her the truth. You cared about her son deeply. She'll want to know that. Let her know you're sorry for her loss. Just listen and talk to her Mary. She isn't going to bite you," Peter replied, trying to reassure her.

Brandi didn't know what to say. She was glad Peter was there. Mary had never looked so lost before.

"Any other advice?"

"His mother is probably just as nervous to meet all of you. His family knows you were Marshall's other family. You'll be fine," Peter said firmly.

"Thank you," Mary whispered.

"I don't know what to do for her. This isn't my sister," Brandi sniffled, as her and Peter returned to the living room.

"I can't say I knew Marshall well, but it was obvious Mary thought highly of him. Let her know you're here for her, but she will need time and space to grieve. She's hurting tremendously. All of her efforts will go into finding the person who did this. From the way I've seen her handle things, she'll break on her own. When she's ready, she'll mourn, and not before then. Don't get in her face, just remind her every now and then you're here for her."

Brandi kissed him. "Thanks, Peter."

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Eleanor and Dershowitz had already arrived at the office. Stan was pacing nervously while staring at the clock and the elevator.

"Where is she? We're going to be late if she doesn't get here soon," Stan grumbled.

"She'll be here. Relax, it's only a two minute drive, besides, Mary wouldn't let Marshall down for anything. How's she holding up?" Eleanor figured she knew the answer, but wanted Stan's opinion anyway.

"'Denial' keeps coming to mind. Her behavior reminds me of his when she was kidnapped. Her focus is on finding the killer while burying the pain. Mary is lost without him." Stan still couldn't bring himself to say Marshall's name. It felt less painful when he didn't.

"Hell, those two were peas in a pod. I can't even imagine what this is like for her. It's why I'm glad I don't have a partner," Bobby replied.

The ping of the elevator was heard as Mary walked out in her pinstripe pantsuit. The looks of sympathy she got almost undid her. A part of her was happy to see Dershowitz and Eleanor again. Yes, even Eleanor. Who would've thought? The other part of her wanted to burst into tears and run away.

"How's the task force, Dershowitz?" Mary asked casually.

"Good," Bobby replied, slightly confused at the calm exterior.

Eleanor walked over and pulled her into a hug[,] ignoring the do not touch rule.

"I know this is hard, but I can be a good listener if you need one," Eleanor whispered.

Mary bit down on the inside of her lip to keep from bursting into tears. The hug and sentiment behind the phrase almost pushing past her defenses.

"Thank you," she whispered, not trusting her voice.

"Let's go." Stan ushered them into the elevator.

They managed to get to the hotel five minutes early. Seth was waiting for them when they arrived.

"Stan, Mary," Seth greeted.

"This is Eleanor Prince, she worked with us for awhile, and this is Bobby Dershowitz from the Albuquerque Police Department, currently loaned out to a task force unit in Chicago," Stan explained.

"It's nice to meet both of you. Carolyn will be down in a few minutes. We were able to get a conference room."

"Seth," a woman called out, walking towards them.

Mary gasped when she saw the woman's facial features and blue eyes. It was the feminine version of her partner. Eleanor saw the startled look and heard the gasp. She squeezed Mary's arm, watching as Mary's struggled to maintain the façade of everything being okay.

"Carolyn, these are Marshall's friends and co-workers." Seth made the introductions. He saved Mary for last knowing his wife wanted to talk to Mary privately.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, we just wish it was under different circumstances," Stan replied.

"Marshall always talked so fondly of you in our calls. I wanted a chance to meet you before the wake tomorrow. They can be so hectic that we might not get a chance to talk. They said the conference room was ready," Carolyn informed Seth.

They headed into the room and spent time exchanging stories about Marshall both as a child and as an adult. The time flew past and before they knew it their time in the room was almost over. They stood up to leave before Carolyn stopped Mary.

"Mary, may I have a word with you?" She didn't miss the quick flash of fear in Mary's eyes.

"Sure," Mary said. She looked at Stan for guidance, probably for the first time in her life.

"You'll be fine," Stan whispered, before he left the two women on their own.

"Please sit down, Mary. I feel I know you in some ways. Marshall talked about you a lot, but don't worry, he didn't share any secrets. He knew better than to do that," Carolyn reassured.

"So he talked about me in his daily calls. Should I be concerned?" Mary asked, trying to lighten up the mood a little.

"He had nothing but good things to say about you. You were his best friend. One of the few he allowed himself. My son could get along with just about anyone, but once the trivia came out of his mouth it seemed to end most of the friendships he made. People always seemed to think he was too odd for them."

"The trivia actually grows on you after awhile. He is, or was, goofy, but a better friend or person didn't exist in this world." Mary was still struggling with the past tense. "He was my only friend. He looked beyond my exterior and found a[space]way through all my defenses. No matter how hard I pushed, he kept coming back. 'Determined' is another word I use to describe him." Mary realized just how much she revealed in that short sentiment. She was beginning to wonder what was wrong with her.

Carolyn picked up on the distress at the end. "Marshall was all that, and really good at hiding things from you if he wanted to."

Mary had the feeling Carolyn was fishing for information here.

"Marshall couldn't lie to me. He's pretty easy to read actually," Mary said honestly.

"You never knew how he felt about you though. I'm not saying any of this to be cruel or hurtful, but I think it is something Marshall would've wanted you to know."

"I knew I was his best friend," Mary replied firmly.

"Yes, but you didn't know, or wouldn't allow yourself to know, that he was in love with you." Carolyn saw Mary's mouth fall open.

"What? No. Marshall wouldn't think of me like that. Why would he?" Mary babbled, trying to make sense of what she had just heard.

"Funny, he told me that you would never think of **him** that way. You could love him as a friend, but nothing more. He loved you for who you are. A strong, confident, stubborn, loyal and caring person. He once said you hid it well amongst many complicated layers. You stood out to him in a way no one else ever has." Carolyn watched as Mary struggled to absorb what she said.

Watching the many emotions flicker across Mary's face, she realized it would be awhile before it truly sunk in. A part of Carolyn now wondered if she should've waited to tell her, but no, she knew her son. If there is one thing he would've wanted this woman to know, it was that.

Mary's mind was swirling with information overload. She couldn't form one coherent thought before another one popped in her head.

"I'm sure he meant as a friend. You must have mistaken what he said," Mary said shaken by Carolyn's words.

Carolyn didn't want to push, so she just nodded.

"We should probably go join the others. Thank you for being Marshall's friend. You made him happy and that is what my son deserved."

"He was more than I ever deserved," Mary said softly.

The two women headed out to see the rest of the group watching them.

"It was a pleasure meeting all of you. Marshall spoke highly of each and every one of you. We'll see you tomorrow night," Seth said.

"We'll be there," Stan replied.

Eleanor waited until they were back in the office before deciding to worry about Mary's silence. Stan and Bobby were all watching her every move. They were wondering what happened with Marshall's mom.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Eleanor decided with Mary, frontal assault was best.

"What?" Mary asked irritably.

"What did Carolyn say that has you thinking too hard?" Eleanor shrugged

Mary needed affirmation that her beliefs were true. The fact that 'affirmation' came up in her inner vocabulary made her mad. Marshall's still in her head and he's not even here. He had no right to leave her and still hold rental property in her mind.

"She mistook something Marshall said. She thought Marshall was in love with me." Mary shrugged. "How crazy is that?"

When they all looked anywhere but at her, she panicked.

"It's crazy, _right_?" Mary tried again.

"You really couldn't be that blind, could you?" Dershowitz asked.

Stan shot a look at him that said, 'shut the hell up.'

"What's that supposed to mean? This is crazy. All of you think it's true."

Eleanor figured since she was always the most brutally honest with Mary she might as well continue the streak.

"He was crazy about you, Mary. You just saw your partner when you were next to him. It was clear as day to the rest of us. Marshall was always there by your side. It's why you didn't see it. It's like your job. You hide things in plain sight so the person or persons looking at you won't see you. When he told you he loved you at your engagement party, he meant it in every sense of the word. It was the only time he figured he could pull it off. He knew you would think he meant as his best friend."

"I have to go check on my people. I'll see you all later." Mary walked out abruptly.

"Was it wise to tell her?" Stan asked.

"If Carolyn thought it was important enough for Mary to know, then yes, I do. Marshall would've wanted her to know. When it finally sinks in though, she's going to break. Deep down I think she felt the same, but never let herself admit it," Eleanor cautioned.

"She'll need help putting her life back together when this is all over," Bobby said. He knew Eleanor and Marshall's mom were right. As hard as it was for Mary to hear, she needed to hear it.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Shady came into Marshall's room to take him to his workspace.

"Alright, Wayne, here is the information that Octavius wants you to obtain. Let's see if that program you have is everything you say it is. I'll come back for the information and you at five. Food and a bathroom are to your left. You shouldn't need anything else," Shady said, before heading out of the room.

Marshall heard the door lock after Shady went out. Taking the flashdrive he was given with the program on it, he began to install it on the computer. Marshall picked up the information that Octavius wanted and realized he was definitely starting at the bottom floor. He didn't even need the program for this information. He could get these files in his sleep. This would be a long day of pulling information for him.

At five o'clock Shady came back to retrieve him, and Marshall handed him the sheet full of times, dates and locations of cash deliveries to banks. He knew that this group didn't do armed robberies, so he assumed it was a test of the program and his skills.

Shady smiled as he looked over the list. "Nice program you have there. Everything is accurate. The boss will be happy. We can start you on some real projects tomorrow."

Marshall didn't bother to answer. He would be happy to get into the rest of the information. He wanted to get into the high-end part of their business, and back home as soon as possible. He had some serious damage control to try and fix.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Mary came out of her bedroom dressed in black. The wake last night had been hard, but she knew today would be worse. Today it would be final. Last night she had at least been able to see photos of her partner. It made her feel closer to Marshall. His parents didn't have a body to show, so they put together photos to music from his birth through last Christmas, and there had been a television playing home videos of him.

Peter and Brandi looked up as Mary walked out.

"Are you sure you want to drive yourself?" Peter asked, concerned.

"Yeah," Mary replied.

Brandi hated the shell that her sister had become since Marshall died, but understood. She had sat with Mary yesterday while they watched the photo tribute of Marshall. He was tall and lanky even as a kid. The video played his cheerful voice, in one sense a treat to hear, but ultimately heartbreaking to know it wouldn't be heard again. She thought Mary would finally cry yesterday, but she sat stony faced through it all. Brandi knew there was a reason Mary wanted to drive herself to the funeral today, but she couldn't imagine why.

Mary, Stan, Eleanor and Dershowitz stood on the opposite side of the casket from Marshall's family. Mary knew Brandi, Peter and Jinx were somewhere behind her, but none of that mattered. She tuned out the minister and ran over her and Marshall's eight year partnership in her mind. It was those images that were getting her through. Marshall smiling, sharing another one of his stupid trivia facts as they drove to pick up a witness. Mary jumped when the first shot was fired. She hadn't realized how lost in thought she was until the gun salute ended and Taps was played. She hated that song. It always made her want to cry, but she wouldn't let the tears escape. It wasn't the right time. Mary stayed behind as everyone else left.

Stan stopped after he walked a few feet, realizing Mary wasn't with them.

"Take the car, I'll ride back with Mary," Stan said, handing Dershowitz the keys.

Seth had seen them stop and noticed where Mary was. He walked over to Stan.

"Is she going to be okay?"

"Not today, not for a long time. I'll take care of her. We'll meet you at the hall. She needs some time with Marshall," Stan replied.

Mary listened until the cars drove away. Moving forward, she ran her hand across the casket as the tears began to pour down her cheeks.

"You broke your promise. You never break your promises. No leaving. What happened to that promise? You left me. You left me alone to deal with this. It wasn't part of the plan. You were supposed to stay and grow old. Why didn't you tell me how you felt? Geez, Marshall, there is so much we never said. I'm lost without you. I don't know how to do this." Leaning down, she kissed the casket. "I loved you too, Marshall. I'm sorry I didn't know. I'm so sorry, Marshall. Please come back to me. Please. I need you. Don't do this to me."

Stan moved as he saw Mary kiss the casket, knowing she was about to break. She'd kept it together for too long. She fell to the ground and began to bawl, one hand clinging to the casket, the other hand resting over her broken heart. He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, trying to give her comfort. It reminded him of Marshall in the corridor after Mary was taken into surgery. Mary clung to him.

"I need him, Stan. I need Marshall," she kept whispering in between sobbing gasps

"We'll get through this together, Mary. I promise you, we _will_ get through this. I also promise we'll find the bastards who took Marshall away from us." Stan felt the tear streak down his face. His heart breaking for both Mary and Marshall; they never had their chance together. He always believed somewhere down the road they would. This wasn't the path their lives were supposed to take. /\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Seth watched as his wife kept glancing at the entrance of the hotel's banquet room. Marshall's attorney had given him letters for each of his son's friends, and he thought this would be the right time to distribute them. They now just waited for Stan and Mary to arrive. Carolyn was worried about Mary. She took a strong liking to the woman even though they only talked for a short while. He wasn't sure if it was Mary herself or her connection to their son that drew his wife to Mary.

The Mustang pulled up and Seth saw Stan get out of the driver's side. Mary was slow at getting out and Stan stayed by her side as they entered.

Mary saw Seth and knew she needed to use the bathroom. She didn't want them to see her pain.

"I need to use the restroom. I'll be back in a minute," Mary said quickly.

"How bad?" Seth asked, after Mary had gone.

"Pretty much as I expected. How are you and your family doing?"

"Hanging in there. I keep waiting for Carolyn to break down again, but I assume she'll wait until this is all over. We need to see the four of you again. There is something we need to give you," Seth informed Stan.

"Whenever you need us let me know."

"Carolyn wants to do it right away. They let us borrow the conference room near the banquet hall, while the other guests are eating."

"Mary and I will meet you there as soon as she comes out. Could you get Dershowitz and Eleanor to meet us there?"

"Shouldn't be hard, they were worried about the two of you." Seth replied as Stan nodded.

"Thank you, Seth."

Mary walked towards Stan while looking for Seth.

"Where did Seth go?

"Conference room. They'd like us to meet them there," Stan shrugged at Mary's perplexed look.

After Mary and Stan arrived, Carolyn asked them all to sit down.

"Marshall's attorney gave us these letters this morning, which my son wanted, each of you to have." She handed them out. "You know Marshall, likes to have a say about everything and nothing in particular. These were important to him for you to have. Read them whenever you like. I also wanted to thank all of you again for being there for our son while he was here. Take some time before joining us again in the hall, if you would like."

Carolyn and Seth left the room as the other four stared at the envelopes they held. Nobody could miss Marshall's neat handwriting of their names. Mary gently traced her fingers over the handwriting. Her mind pictured him meticulously writing each and every one of them. Mary put hers in her pocket. She would read this when she was alone. She noticed the others doing the same. None of them were prepared to read his last words.

They rejoined the others and stayed for a little over an hour. As they were leaving, Carolyn stopped Mary for a second, she needed to talk to her again.

"Mary, if you ever need to talk or want to share anything with me about Marshall, please feel free to call me. He said you weren't much on the emotions and I won't push, but I would really like to talk to you someday if you wouldn't mind. Take your time, there's no need to rush. I know you have a job to do. Thank you for being his best friend. You made my son happy. He loved working with you. It helped him grow in some ways." Carolyn knew she was being forward, but she really would like to get to know Mary better. She slipped her the phone number before heading back towards her family.

"Why me? Why does she want to talk to me?" Mary looked to Eleanor, figuring she would have the best answer.

"You were the closest to Marshall. She wants to get to know the person who made him happy. Through you she keeps a part of her son alive. It's complicated, but sincere." Eleanor's voice had a sad tone to it. /\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Marshall sat in his room watching the Albuquerque news online. He saw a mention of his funeral and felt that familiar pain in his heart. The guilt consumed him every time he heard about his death or funeral on TV. He was just glad they kept his photo out of the headlines.

Tomorrow he would be running the program for whatever information Octavius needed.

Octavius' men were keeping tabs on him wherever he went. His recording device his friend gave him was still in hiding. He had wanted to record all of this, but couldn't do it until he lost his observers. Octavius wanted respect and to be able to trust the people he worked with. Until that trust was earned there would be no privacy for him.

This was the first time in his career he could honestly say he hated his job. The problem with that was this really wasn't his job. This was definitely something the FBI or ATF should be operating. This had nothing to do with the Marshal's Service. So why was he involved? Between the questions and the guilt he wasn't sleeping well. He had to figure a way to bury them before he slipped up because he was exhausted.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

In Albuquerque, four people sat staring at a white envelope. All wanting to read the words, but knowing if they did it was final. Eleanor was at her hotel, Dershowitz at his apartment, Stan was sitting behind his desk with the door and blinds closed and Mary was in her bedroom, mesmerized by the sight of her finger tracing over Marshall's handwriting.

Dershowitz chided himself for being foolish about all of this and finally opened his envelope. He pulled out the letter and began to read it.

_Bobby, _

_The road trip to Philly was fun. I was glad in the end that Joey told you about himself. I know that our job has often frustrated you, and I've wanted to apologize for not being able to make things easier on you. I hope you realize it was never anything personal, just what is asked of us for the job. You are a great detective and will go places. _

_I'm glad we were able to become friends. As your friend, I need to ask for a double favor in some aspects. Please keep an eye on Mary and Stan for me. I know this will be hard on them and I trust you to have my back on this. You always helped us in the past when we needed it, complained a little, but it at least gave you the appearance of being frustrated with us. I know what I ask in some ways is a lot, but I think you can handle it. _

_If you stick with the task force in Chicago I wish you the best. Please just check in on them once and awhile. _

_Your friend, _

_Marshall_

Bobby felt himself choke up. He knew he and Marshall had become friends and respected each other, but this was a huge task, and the fact that Marshall entrusted him with it was an honor.

/

Eleanor finally caved in and tore the envelope open. She already missed Marshall. He was always the polite one, yet good for a laugh also. His sparkling blue eyes and silly smirk would be missed tremendously.

_Eleanor, _

_I missed you around the office; nothing has been the same since you left. Mary has no one to pick on and I lacked the amusement of watching both of you go back and forth with each other. You brought a spark to the office that has been truly missed. I know I can never thank you enough for all the help you gave Mary when Brandi was in trouble. Mary really did appreciate it, but you know her. By the way, she was worried as an analyst you might get to carry a gun. I got a chuckle out of that. _

_I know you were hurt when you lost your husband, but Stan is a really good guy, and I think you both make each other very happy. He'll be busy trying to console Mary now that I'm gone. Please take care of him. I know that my death will hurt him also. I always knew that Mary and I were his surrogate children and to lose either one of us would cause him pain. He has such a big heart and so much to give. Don't let time or space come between you. I missed my chance. Don't miss yours. Take care of yourself and be happy. _

_Marshall_

Eleanor swiped the tears from her cheek absently as she thought of the words he'd left to her. She had laughed about the gun and could imagine Mary's expression.

"Oh, Marshall. We miss you," she whispered into the silence of the room, hoping he could hear her.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Stan wanted to go into Marshall's desk and grab the bottle of scotch before reading his letter. He knew he wouldn't though. Marshall wanted to tell him something and the least he could do was be sober for it. He looked at the neat writing that he had seen so often and it made him want to cry. It was the last communication they would have. Sliding his finger into the envelope he tore it open.

_Stan,_

_I wanted to thank you for __everything you have done for me since I arrived in Albuquerque. You took me under your wing and showed me how to soar. You were my mentor, friend, boss, confidant and, most importantly, my surrogate father. You probably understood me better than my own at times. Don't get me wrong, I know my Dad loved me, but he never understood me. You always seemed to. You were always there to listen to what I had to say and that meant__ a lot to me._

_I'm glad I was right about Mary. I almost lost it when you thought it was Stockholm syndrome. Protect her for me,__Stan. It's the one thing I need for you to do for me. I need to give her to you for her safe keeping. I don't want to see her with me for a long time. She will let you in, but you have to be patient and persistent. It took awhile, but I got there. You are the only other person she trusts. I'm sorry I left you to the keeper job, but it is a wonderful experience if you let it be. I'm not telling you anything that you don't already know. _

_The other thing I ask is that you let yourself find happiness. Eleanor isn't that far away and it's obvious you like each other. You deserve that and so much more. _

_Your surrogate son,_

_Marshall._

Stan broke down with those words. Dropping his head to the desk, as the pain overwhelmed him.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Mary had come home from the funeral and gone straight to her bedroom. She was still tracing his handwriting. Scared to death to open the letter, knowing he wanted her to know something, she finally removed the letter from the envelope.

_Sunshine,_

_I still remember the look on your face when I called you that. You looked ready to rip my head off. Who would have thought how far we'd come from that point. When I first met you, I couldn't stand you. Little by little things came out that made me realize there was a lot more to you __then your rough exterior. I got a glimpse of the real Mary Shannon when you mentioned your dad on__ the ride back to Albuquerque._

_If you are reading this, then I owe you an apology. I failed to keep my promise to stay with you on earth. I will still be with you Mary just looking out for you from further away. I have always and will always have your back. There is so much I wish I had told you, but I know that you were not ready to hear the words I had to say. _

_Our partnership and friendship meant the world to me. You are still my best friend and I'm grateful for that. I know you think if we'd met in high school you would've eaten me alive. You're wrong. I would have gotten under your skin then too, and we would've been best friends. _

_I know that nothing I can say will ease the hurt of my leaving, but I need you to keep living. Find happiness, and not with someone who wants something from you that you aren't,__]__ like Raph or even a needy snake like Faber. Yes, I updated this for you recently. I always did like to be prepared. Sorry, I digressed. I know,__shocking. Faber isn't right for you either. I hope you see that. You've done needy your entire life,__]__ Mare. Find someone who loves you for you. Don't settle for something less because you think it's the right thing to do. Let your family grow up and take responsibility for their own lives. Jinx has already started and I believe Peter will help Brandi down her own path. Most importantly, let yourself be loved. The right one will come along someday. I know by now Mom has probably told you that I loved you. She was right. I knew it wasn't something you were ready to hear. I didn't want to tell you because I needed to have you in my life, even if it was only as your friend. _

_Don't hang on to me, Mary, let me go. Find the reason I'm dead and then find your happiness. Don't let this haunt or destroy you. There was nothing that could have been changed. If there had been, I would still be there. It was my time to go._

_Let the others help you. I have left instructions for them to commence with the mother henning of you. You are the strongest person I know, that strength and our friends will help you through this. Don't shut them out or close yourself off. _

_I have one request that probably isn't fair or in your comfort zone, but I need this to be done by the person I trust the most in this world. Could you please check in on my parents from time to time__? Mom will need someone to talk to. Dad won't discuss me with her. He does feelings worse than you. He's a good man__ overall, just never understood me. I know you have a soft spot for him. Thank you, Mare, for everything._

_I love you, Mary Shannon, always have, and always will. _

_Forever yours,_

_Marshall_

Mary's tears soaked into the paper. The letter was so Marshall; honesty was thrown in with a few things to make her smile. Clutching the letter, she cried herself to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

A month had passed since Marshall had faked his death. Octavius and Shady were thrilled with his program so far. Before he could contemplate more about ways to move himself up to the next phase of the operation, he was interrupted by a knock on his door.

"Wayne, Octavius would like a word with you," Shady said.

"Problem with the information?" Marshall asked.

"No, works like a charm. Octavius has business to discuss," Shady replied, leading Marshall to the office.

"Okay." Marshall said, figuring he was either not going to be needed any more or that the subterfuge was going to payoff.

"Wayne, have a seat."

"Is everything okay?" Marshall asked, making his voice sound slightly anxious.

Octavius smiled and nodded. "Better than okay. I've decided it's time to move you to phase two of this operation. Let's see if your program can handle another business. You will be leaving tomorrow morning with Shady and I for our New Orleans base."

"Thank you, sir. It'll be an honor," Marshall stated with a smile on his face. Phase two meant one step closer to going home. With any luck a chance at forgiveness and understanding.

"Be ready at seven a.m.; the flight leaves at eight," Octavius informed him.

"I'll be ready, sir."

"See you in the morning, Wayne," Shady said, dismissing him.

Shady watched Wayne leave, waiting until the door was closed before looking towards Octavius.

"What's the game plan?" Shady asked.

"I want him there for at least two months before moving him again, possibly longer. If he does anything suspicious we extend Wayne's stay in New Orleans. I want that program in Chicago as soon as we can get it there. It will get us the information that we need a whole lot quicker."

"What about Wayne? Are we keeping him?" Shady asked. He was always leery of adding on new people.

"If the program works then yes, he stays. If not we'll arrange an accident for him."

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Mary and Stan were beyond frustrated. They had been working every angle they could to come up with a clue to Marshall's murder, but instead they kept coming up empty.

Mary started to wonder if this was how it had been for Marshall when he was looking for her shooter. The mere thought of Marshall had her eyes casting over to his empty desk. She and Stan couldn't bring themselves to pick a replacement. No one was good enough.

Mary had never felt so empty in her life. She looked up as she heard Stan yelling into his phone. Whomever was on the other line was getting an earful and Mary knew whatever it was, it wasn't good. Stan's frustration was showing as he continually ran his hand over his bald spot. When he slammed the phone down, Mary actually jumped. She watched Stan pace in his office furiously for ten minutes before calming down enough to come out by her, and she waited to hear what set him off.

Stan didn't even want to tell Mary what Allison had said.

"What's going on, Stan?"

"We're being removed from Marshall's case. Allison is sending someone from the FBI to investigate the case. She stated that we're too close to the victim. They want an impartial observer to take over the case."

"Who the hell are they sending?" Mary asked.

"I don't know," Stan replied. "She didn't feel the need to tell me, just that I would find out shortly."

They were interrupted by another voice entering the conversation as the elevator doors opened.

"Kitten," Faber said.

"Impartial my ass! This is the best they can do for Marshall?" Mary asked, furious.

"While I'm sorry for your loss, I can guarantee you that I'll do everything in my power to find out the truth," Faber replied, placing his hand over his heart.

"You damn well better," Mary snapped.

Stan had to agree with Mary's assessment. The last thing Mary needed was Faber here. He would give Allison one more chance to rectify this before he attempted to go over her head.

"Faber, my office," Stan ordered.

"Later, kitten," Faber said.

"I'm going to make my rounds, Stan. I'll see you tomorrow," Mary called out, not wanting to deal with Faber. Marshall's words about her finding someone not needy like Faber ran through her mind. Her partner had seen something he didn't like and that was all that she needed to know.

"Have a good one, Mary," Stan replied, while shuffling Faber into his office and turning his attention to the man. "Sit down. We are going to go over ground rules."

Faber knew the chief wouldn't be happy to see him, but he expected a warmer welcome from Shannon. They parted on amicable turns in Mexico and a good time was had by both of them. He had secretly hoped to help fill the void Marshall's death had left in Mary's life and to provide her with some of his own brand of comfort.

"Faber, you are here to investigate Marshall's murder under complete and absolute protest on my part. I will be calling Allison and noting my concerns and then I will work my way over her head. That being said, while you are here you _**will **_conduct yourself in a professional manner. There will be no use of the word 'kitten' or I will charge you with sexual harassment. You will not go near Inspector Shannon unless it's work related. She has a job to do. I expect you to work around the clock to find Marshall's killer. Any and all areas that I see you acting inappropriately or anything indicating you're not doing your job, I'll throw you out of _**my**_ office. Are you crystal clear on this?"

Faber felt some of his smugness drain away. He was going to be watched like a hawk.

"Yes." He shrugged as if it was no big deal.

"Then get out of my office and get to work," Stan said sternly. This whole thing stunk and he would find the cause even if it was the last thing he ever did.

Once Faber left, Stan picked up the phone and dialed Allison Pearson.

"Stan, what can I do for you?" Allison asked.

"You picked Faber? He's as far from impartial as you get and is easily distracted by other things he wants."

"He's a good agent and will do his job," Allison defended.

"His only interest in coming here is Inspector Shannon and she's dealing with the death of her partner. She doesn't need more problems here," Stan replied.

"You are keeping Faber and there is no more discussion on this. Get over it. I'm sure Mary can handle herself," Allison stated heatedly.

"For your sake you better hope she can," Stan warned.

"Or what? I have connections, Inspector McQueen." Allison wasn't going to put up with this.

"You aren't the only one with connections, Director," Stan cautioned back, before hanging up on her.

Allison looked at the phone. Things were going to unravel at this rate. She knew McQueen and Shannon would defend Mann, but she had hoped the longer they went without any clues the sooner they'd learn to let it go. If things continued along the current path, she would need to find a way to accelerate Marshall's work. She needed him at the final location.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Mary arrived home late that night after finishing her and Marshall's' witness checks. She refused to see these people as anything less than his. Heading into her bedroom, she lay down and reached into the dresser. Pulling out her letter, she read it several times before she was interrupted by the doorbell. Quickly securing it back into the dresser, she grabbed her Glock and headed to the door.

Looking through the peephole, Mary groaned. Opening the door she glared at him.

"What do you want, Faber?"

Mike held out the bottle of wine to her.

"To pick up where we left off." He smiled charmingly.

Mary heard Marshall's words from the letter in her head.

"Find Marshall's killer yet?" Mary crossed her arms defensively over her chest.

"I just got here," Faber replied.

"Then you have a lot of work to do, Agent Faber. I strongly advise you get to it," Mary said, slamming the door in Faber's face.

"A man can't work all the time, he has to have a break every now and then," Faber said loudly.

"I'll give you a break, just not the kind you're thinking of if you don't do your job," Mary replied before shutting the porch light off and heading back to her room.

"I hear you, Marshall, and I'm trying. I miss you." The tear streaked down her cheek as she envisioned Marshall's nod of approval.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

The plane touched down in New Orleans at nine thirty. Octavius, Shady and Marshall were met at the private airport by a group of black SUV's. The scene almost made Marshall laugh. It was like landing with the Marshal's Service.

Marshall hadn't missed the unusually large amount of bodyguards Octavius had, and was glad the man insisted they carry guns. Instinct was telling him trouble was nearby.

Octavius was just getting into the vehicle when one of the windows shattered as the sound of gunfire filled the air. Marshall was about to reach for his gun when he was shoved into the SUV.

"What the…" Marshall never got the chance to finish as the door closed and Shady pushed him and Octavius down. Glass shattered over their bodies as the driver sped out of the vicinity.

"Wayne, we have guards to take care of the shootouts. I admire your willingness to protect yourself, but there is no need to get yourself killed. Especially when we still need you and your program." Shady lectured as he kept checking to make sure that it was safe.

"Nice to know," Marshall snapped. "Who was the company?"

"Just a little friendly competition, nothing to worry about," Octavius replied.

"So what do the non friendly ones do?" Marshall asked, nervously.

Arriving at a mansion, the car stopped and Shady indicated to Wayne to get out.

"Shady, show Wayne to his room. Wayne, why don't you take a couple of days to relax and enjoy what the city has to offer. It will probably be awhile before you get a chance to get out again." Octavius grinned widely at him.

"There are several cars you can choose from in the garage."

"Great, I'll just do a search on the net and then head out." Marshall knew he was being tested again. This time, though, he had to find a way to ditch them briefly. Allison needed to know he was at the second location.

Returning from dropping Wayne at his room, Shady looked to Octavius.

"Anyone in particular you want to have following him? The tracker and audio devices are loaded on all of the cars," Shady said.

"No, whoever's turn in the rotation will do. I have a feeling they are in for a long and boring couple of days." Octavius laughed at the thought of where the geek might take them.

"You're not expecting trouble?" Shady asked.

"No, that guy is boring. He hasn't shown any interest in learning anything unless it's related to technology or history since he's arrived. No calls, e-mails, chat rooms or blogs have been used. They don't get much plainer then our friend Wayne. That works to our benefit. Still keep a close eye on him; I don't want any unsuspected surprises. I have a feeling our competition has heard about our latest discovery. They may want our guy. I want Wayne kept safe. That program may prove to be invaluable."

"Got it. I'll let Jacobs and Davis know that." Shady replied heading to find the two men that would be following Wayne.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Mary hadn't been able to decide if she should be pissed at Stan or kiss the man. Faber was getting on her absolute last nerve. He kept showing up at her door, trying to get her to go out with him. She had threatened to bring harassment charges against him, if he showed up again. She now understood what Marshall had meant by needy. Stan must have picked up on her poor attitude, not that it was hard to miss, because he volunteered her to go to New Orleans to pick up their latest witness.

"What's the deal with this one, Stan?" Mary asked.

"James Sinclair witnessed two crime syndicates having a shoot out at a private airport in New Orleans. He's the only one who can testify. There were no security cameras operating at the time of the shootout. They stashed him in a hotel in the French Quarter for now."

Mary nodded as accepted the case file. The next morning she headed to the airport to pick up her witness. Boarding the airplane she grabbed her window seat. Leaning her head against the window pane, her thoughts drifted to Marshall. She was beginning to finally realize just how much he had been doing for her since they became partners and friends. The whole 'don't know what you've got 'til it's gone' line made perfect sense to her now. Sorrow had become her constant companion, well, that and anger if she were brutally honest. Nothing seemed to matter without Marshall here. The wheel of the plane touching down brought Mary out of her thoughts on Marshall. Searching the perimeter she climbed into the waiting SUV as they headed to the French Quarter to pick up her witness.

Arriving at the hotel, Mary stepped out of the car and was headed inside when she felt a shiver go up her spine. She turned to see if she could find what sent the sensation through her body. Looking at the crowd, she saw the back of a tall, lanky man. Her heartbeat accelerated as her mind screamed 'Marshall'. It was then she noticed the black hair, and that brief moment of hope was shattered.

"Damn it. Marshall's gone. You need to get used to it," she muttered underneath her breath before heading into the hotel.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Marshall was walking around the French Quarter taking in the sights while trying to figure out a plan to lose his tails for a few minutes. It was while he was passing a hotel that he felt her. His heart rate pounded with excitement at his first glimpse of her, but he knew he couldn't get to her. If he did, he risked endangering whatever witness she was there for. It would draw Octavius' goons' attention to her. Heading towards a shop near the hotel, he found a way to just catch a glimpse of her. He couldn't stop himself from looking. His heart ached at being so close to her and knowing he couldn't go to her. He just wanted to give her a hug and promise everything would be okay. She stopped to scan the area. Worried she had felt him too; he casually turned around and walked back into the crowd. _I'm so sorry, Mary. _He couldn't stop that thought from running through his mind

Shortly after he saw Mary, a group tour following their guide made their way near him. Seeing his opportunity to lose his tails briefly, he took it. Once he was sure he was alone, he found a place to make a call without being overheard, and pulled out the untraceable phone Allison had given him.

"What do you have?" Allison asked.

"Not a lot of time. I'm in phase two. They flew me to New Orleans today. I have today and tomorrow to explore before they put me onto the next part of the project," Marshall relayed.

"You're in New Orleans?" Allison was alarmed, she knew Shannon was sent there to pick up a witness. The odds of them bumping into each other were slim, but they were there.

Marshall picked up on the nervousness in her voice. He briefly wondered if she knew Mary was in town, but doubted she did. If Allison had any clue Mary was coming she would've prevented Stan from sending her.

"Yes," Marshall replied.

"You need to be careful. Mary is there to pick up a witness. I remind you of the warning I gave you before this started. If you attempt to contact Mary anyone else there will be severe consequences not only to your career, but to theirs as well. We can't afford to let Octavius get away again," Allison said sharply.

"I'm well aware of who you threatened in order to get me to comply with this mission," Marshall snapped. It was the only reason he agreed to not say anything. It was one thing to destroy his own career, but it was another to take Mary, Stan and his Dad down with him.

"Do they like the program?" Allison asked, trying to ignore Marshall's irritation.

"Yes, apparently it's not much of a secret, either. We were shot at when we arrived this morning."

Allison pinched the bridge of her nose. If the Mary's witness saw Marshall, everything she was trying to accomplish would go out the window.

"Alright, is there any evidence that you were at the shooting?"

"Not that I'm aware of. We weren't there very long. I'll let you know when I've got more, but I need to go." Marshall hung up without giving her a chance to reply.

Marshall made his way back out onto the street, intermixing again with the tour group. Weaving his way through them, he headed for a souvenir shop where he noted Octavius' men rejoin him. Wandering around for a bit longer he picked up a shot glass and a magnet.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Jacobs and Davis swore when they lost Wayne from their sights. The guy was tall, he couldn't be that hard to find. They finally saw him burst free of a crowd and smiled.

"Wonder how long he's been caught in the middle of the tour group?" Davis asked.

"You think he's up to something?" Jacobs said.

"Please, since yesterday we've been on a freaking history tour, tourist trap tour and who knows where he's going to bore us next."

They spent the rest of the day following him from the Aquarium to the old U.S. Mint. When he headed for his car they both sighed in relief.

"You don't think he'll drive somewhere else?" Jacobs asked, knowing he couldn't take much more.

When Wayne's car turned toward the mansion both men were happy. Davis pulled out his cell phone.

"Well?" Shady asked.

"Boring didn't quite cover it. Don't ask me to follow him again. I'd rather be filleted. We did lose him for about ten minutes, but he got caught up in a tour group. All he did was sightsee and shop."

"What did he buy?"

"Shot glass and a magnet. Surprised we didn't see the t-shirt and hat with it," Davis replied.

"You boys take the night off. I do believe you earned it."

"Thanks, Shady." Davis couldn't keep the enthusiasm out of his voice.

Shady hung up with a smile on his face knowing the two guards must have been bored to tears.

"Wayne's on his way back and the boys don't want to follow him ever again."

"Told you," Octavius said, shaking his head. Geeks. Who would have thought it would come down to one being important enough to propel him to dominance in the crime syndicate?

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Allison Pearson was getting ready to make a phone call, but first she wanted to compose herself. Her contact wouldn't appreciate knowing how close they had come to having the mission ruined.

Grabbing the phone, she dialed and waited for the answer.

"Pearson, what's the status?" The gruff voice on the other end asked.

"Mann has already been relocated to New Orleans. He has gained the attention of the competition, which we should've calculated into this." Allison relayed the information about the airport.

"Do _not_ blow this, Pearson, or all three of our careers will be up in smoke," the man threatened.

"Careers? Hell, we'd end up in jail for the remainder of our lives if this got out. Your son better be able to hold up his end of the deal. Mann needs to be dead when this is over," she reminded.

"My son has never failed me yet," the man replied.

"His choice for a marshal to use for this wasn't a good one. I have a feeling when we set Mann up to take the fall, his family and co-workers are going to fight it every step of the way."

"Let them, there's no proof of what we've done. Once Mann is gone it will tie up all of our loose ends. Just get Mann to the final location so he can get the information we need erased from Octavius' computer system. When it fails to perform, Octavius will order his death and we'll send a team to arrest Octavius. The evidence they find will make Mann look like a traitor and you'll have the credentials to expedite your career," the man reminded her of the plan.

"I'll let you know when, and where the final destination is."

"It'll be awhile. They won't move Mann up to the big leagues without being sure. There is a reason Falcon has never been caught," the man replied.

"Yes, I know. It's why I agreed to this. With your recommendation and this arrest I can get what I want," Allison replied.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Mary returned to Albuquerque, processed the witness and dropped him off at his new apartment and went home exhausted yesterday. Stan had asked her to meet him at the library today and she was going to stop there after she visited Marshall.

Mary had never been the flower or gift giving type, but Marshall was always her exception to just about every rule. She sat down next to his grave and brushed off some debris from the headstone before replacing the old flowers with new ones.

"Hey partner, you must think I'm losing it. Almost calling out for you in New Orleans like that. It felt like you were there, the way it's supposed to be. I miss you so much. Nothing is the same. Even Stan has lost some of his shine. He seems older now, somehow. I guess we've all changed since you left us." Mary couldn't say 'died'.

She was about to continue when she heard footsteps behind her. Turning around quickly, she moved her hand to her gun.

Faber stood behind her with his hands up.

"Now is that any way to greet me, kitten?" Faber flashed a wide smile.

Mary glared menacingly at him.

"What are you doing here? This is Marshall's place and you are _not _welcome here," she made sure her tone was both crisp and sharp.

"Now, no need to get defensive, kitten. Just thought I would see how you are doing. See if you were up for supper tonight."

"You're hitting on me while I'm visiting Marshall? What the _hell_ is wrong with you? I don't want to date you, see you or even be your friend. I want you to find Marshall's killer or killers. That is the _only_ thing I want from you. If you are incapable of doing so then get out of Albuquerque. I don't ever want to see you again at his gravesite. You don't belong here, never have and never will," Mary hissed angrily.

"I'm not the enemy," Faber said.

"From where I'm sitting you are. Now go. I want to be alone with Marshall. Don't ever come here again. If I find out you have, I'll kick your ass."

Faber backed up. "I can tell when I'm not wanted," he said, heading back to his car.

"No, you can't. That's the problem," Mary replied loud enough for him to hear. She watched to make sure he drove off.

"Sorry about that, Faber is infuriating. Where was I? Brandi and Peter are talking about moving in together. I don't know what to think of that. Sometimes, I'm not sure if they are ready for it. I hope they know what they're doing. Jinx is still teaching the ballet classes. I have to call your mom one of these days. I think she really wanted me to and I know you did. I've been so focused on everything else that I haven't had a chance to. I have to go. Stan wants to talk to me about something. I miss you," she kissed her hand and placed it over his name, gently tracing the letters before forcing herself to leave.

Mary walked to the Mustang and with one last longing look, she headed out of the cemetery and towards the library, periodically checking her rearview mirror to make sure Faber wasn't following her.

Walking into the library, she saw Stan signal her from a side conference room.

"What's with the mystery, Stan?" Mary asked.

"While you were in New Orleans I decided to do some checking up on Faber's progress. He has nothing more than what we gave him. Allison doesn't seem to care and I'm not about to let this go. I made a promise that I intend to keep," Stan said firmly.

"Well it's about time, Stan," Mary smiled widely. "Where do we start?"

"Unfortunately, we start with the autopsy and fire department reports. From there we'll sift through the evidence that was collected. We're going to have to keep this on the sly. Allison won't be happy is she finds out we're undermining her authority. Especially if she finds out I've got some of my connections looking into her."

"Why should she be happy when we're not?"

"What took you so long anyways?" Stan looked pointedly at her.

"I stopped by Marshall's grave and was interrupted by Faber," Mary shrugged.

"Why was he there?" Stan felt like the grounds were somehow desecrated.

"What does Faber always want? I just needed to see Marshall again." Mary explained what happened in New Orleans.

"You're not losing it, Mary, but you are grieving in some ways, while clinging onto false hope in another. I think we're all stuck on that part." Stan was having a hard time letting go himself. He had been out to the gravesite while Mary was in New Orleans.

"Do you have copies of the reports?" Mary asked, eager to drop the 'Marshall's gone' speech that would be coming otherwise.

"Yes," he replied, handing her a copy.

"Eleanor to the rescue?"

"Eleanor isn't happy with the way this is being handled either," Stan replied.


	5. Chapter 5

Marshall had been working non stop for a month and half in New Orleans on the money laundering aspect of Octavius' business. From what he was able to overhear, if everything continued to run smoothly they'd be moving him to the headquarters soon. Marshall was hoping the rumors were true this charade was taking a toll on him both physically and emotionally.

Shady walked in to see Wayne rubbing the back of his neck and rotating his shoulders. So far his program was running like a charm. There weren't any breaches or problems getting the money to and from the locations they requested. They had worked Wayne like a dog and it had paid off well. But, he and Octavius were both noting the man looked worn out.

"Wayne, boss wants you to take a few days off. You've been bottled up here too long."

Marshall could've hugged the man. He was tired of staring at the same four walls with no one to talk to and no connection to the outside world.

"Thanks," Marshall replied enthusiastically.

"The boss set you up at a hotel near the French Quarter. Pack for a couple of days and don't worry about the expenses," Shady informed, as he passed him a hotel key and directions.

Marshall took them gratefully and headed out to the car. He stopped for supplies and to see if any of Octavius' men were tailing him. No one stood out so far. He was pretty sure they'd have someone at the hotel to keep an eye on him.

Entering the hotel room, he collapsed on the bed. Marshall missed human contact at this point. He was used to dealing with Mary, Stan and the witnesses on a daily basis; he never realized how alone he could feel without that interaction. His time in New Orleans had showed him just how alone he really was. Allison didn't want to hear from him unless he had a break or vital information for the case. Octavius and Shady weren't interested in anything to do with him, other than his program. Everyone else just watched to make sure he didn't do something he wasn't supposed to. Rubbing his hands wearily over his face, he finally just closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Three hours later he woke with a jerk. Nightmares were still haunting him. Pieces of the past combined with things going on now were turning his mind into a mess. Everyone in his nightmares hated him for what he was putting them through. No one was willing to forgive him for causing them so much pain. He found himself waking up feeling shattered and broken by their rejection. Nothing he tried could keep the guilt away. He stepped out onto the balcony, hoping that some fresh air might clear his mind. He looked out at the city and longed for the desert.

Marshall's fingers were running over the untraceable phone in his pocket. He wanted to use it so much. He felt like the phone was mocking him to call Mary and explain where he was and why. Moving to a darkened corner of the balcony that would make it impossible to see him, Marshall impulsively grabbed the phone and punched Mary's number into it. Just a second to hear her voice, he promised himself.

Before Marshall could hit the send button, he heard the sound of the hotel door slamming against the wall. He quickly shoved the phone back into his pocket while trying to move out of view. He heard the sounds of two people moving around the room while tossing things around. A few seconds later he heard two more people enter followed by gunfire. A stray bullet shot out onto the balcony, hitting Marshall's side. The gunfire stopped shortly after he was hit.

"Wayne?" Davis called out.

"Balcony," Marshall said through gritted teeth. His side was beginning to hurt.

"You hit?" Davis asked.

"A little deeper than a graze," Marshall replied, pressing his hand against his bleeding side.

"Okay, suck it up and let's go," Davis said while grabbing Marshall and the bag that Jacobs handed to him.

Marshall knew he needed to figure out a way to get a message to Allison in order to clean his blood off the balcony. Anything that showed that he was alive would ruin the work he had done so far, but more importantly could cause Allison to follow through on her threats of ruining Mary, Stan and his father's careers.

Jacobs pulled his cell out as they rushed to the car in the parking lot. "Boss, they came after Wayne. He'll live, but we're going to need a cleanup job at the hotel. There are two bodies and Wayne's blood is on the balcony. It's a small injury, nothing Doc can't patch up when we arrive back at the mansion."

They sped through the streets of New Orleans to get to the mansion where Octavius and Shady were waiting for them at the door.

"Doc, meet your patient," Shady said, as Marshall walked into the door his hand on his side.

"Wayne, meet Doc. He's good at fixing us up," Octavius finished.

The doctor followed Marshall to his room and cleaned the graze before bandaging it up.

"All done. You should be good as new in no time. If the area becomes infected, have Octavius call me."

Marshall nodded as the man left. Once he was sure no one was coming in, he sent a quick text to Allison.

_Shot at New Orleans hotel. My blood is on the balcony at scene. Sounds like Falcon's men will do the clean up job. Just a head's up._

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Allison heard her cell phone. Looking down at the text, she cursed and made a phone call.

"Whatever connections you have in New Orleans, you need to use them. Mann was shot at a hotel there. Falcon's men are supposedly cleaning it up, but I need to make sure that there is no trace of his DNA found."

"I'll have my connections handle it. There will be no record of the incident," the gruff voice replied.

"Good, we are to close for this to blow up on us now."

"You need to learn to relax, Director, or you will never make it in D.C.," the man cautioned before hanging up.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Octavius and Shady were updated on Wayne's injury before Doc left. Now they had to make a choice.

"Are we moving him up in the chain or sending him to the afterlife?" Shady asked.

"Move him up. It's not Wayne's fault the competition wants his program. We can provide better protection for him in Chicago. Arrange a couple of flights with our planes and have them go to a couple of different airports in other cities. We'll hire another one and get a loaner pilot to fly us to Chicago. That should keep the competition from finding us at the airport," Octavius replied.

"I'll get the arrangements made. When are you going to tell him where we're headed?" Shady asked.

"When we're in the air."

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Mary and Stan kept coming back to the autopsy report. Something about it was bothering both of them, but neither could figure out what it was.

"Let's just put it aside for awhile and come back to it," Stan suggested.

"Are we grasping for straws, Stan?" Mary was beginning to think they were.

"I don't know, but the fact that it bothers both of us seems to be a sign that we aren't. I've requested a copy of Marshall's dental records. I know we've been over the autopsy report more times than is probably healthy, so maybe if we take a break and study the other information we can look at it differently." Stan didn't like going over the report. He was having nightmares about Marshall burning in flames.

"Was there a signature mark on the bomb?" Mary asked, trying to focus on something other then the autopsy.

"I've had Charlie running reports to see if there have been any similar bombings. He's still working on it. Last time I checked with him there weren't any matches," Stan replied.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Shady walked into Wayne's room and saw him sleeping on the bed. He went to wake the man by shaking his shoulder and was rewarded with a gun in his face.

"Relax, Wayne, it's Shady. Time to get up and get packed. We're leaving New Orleans."

"Where are we going?" Marshall asked.

"We'll let you know when we're ready." Shady replied.

Marshall reluctantly rolled out of bed, tossed his bag together and managed to get another text out to Allison.

_Moving tonight, they won't tell me where until later. Will advise ASAP._

Marshall hit send and headed down the stairs.

Allison was working late when the message came in. Pulling it out, she smiled when she saw the text. She sent a message to the man.

_Mann is being moved tonight. Location is still unknown. We'll need to have your son ready to change assignments. I'll take care of my end; you need to make sure your son leads one of the entry teams. He'll need to take Mann out during the raid._

The man smiled when he received the message. This would cover his tracks and leave nothing to prove the connection between his family and Falcon. The gun shipment information he needed to have disappear would vanish when Mann loaded the program into Octavius' system. He had his programmer build in the virus before Allison gave the program to Mann. Falcon was no longer needed for funding purposes. The connection now would ruin his longstanding career as a Senator.

He sent his son a message.

_Mann is being moved tonight. Allison is pulling you off of Mann's investigation. A mutual friend will put you in charge of one of the raiding teams. Make sure Mann doesn't come home._

Faber cursed when he received the information from his father. He had been hoping that his time in Albuquerque would get him a chance with Mary. With Marshall out of the way, he hoped he could provide her with the comfort she needed. Apparently he misread the situation; Mary wasn't giving him an inch. Marshall Mann seemed to be able to keep a hold on her even in the afterlife. For now, though, his family's illegal activities needed to be covered up. If they weren't, both he and his father would lose their careers and end up in the federal penitentiary.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Marshall was sitting in the Lear jet watching the clouds roll by. A part of him excited that they were so close to the end, the other part worried about what lie ahead of him. He still felt that he was stuck in the middle of nowhere and completely alone. There was a reason she was holding his Dad's retirement and his friends' careers over his head. He just needed to figure out the final piece of the puzzle.

Shady watched Wayne staring out the plane window. The man looked lost.

"Wayne, we'll be there in about two hours," Shady said.

"I don't suppose you're going to tell me where there is?"

"The Windy City," Octavius replied.

"Do you have any particular enemies in Chicago that I should be concerned about?" Marshall figured it was a fair question to ask after recent events.

"None for you to worry about, but yes, there are some. We'll just keep you tucked away at our location. No wandering around the city for you this time. You seem to have an unusual knack for finding trouble," Shady said.

Marshall nodded in understanding. The word about the program had hit the streets and now everyone wanted their hands on it. If the competition couldn't get it, then they wanted to make sure no one else could use it. Landing at a private air strip, they climbed into the waiting vehicle and whisked Marshall to a Chicago junkyard. As they drove through the gates, Marshall could see the electronic surveillance equipment and make out shooters hidden within junk piles. The team coming in to take Octavius down would definitely have their work cut out for them. As they drove further in, he started noticing a multitude of various buildings scattered behind or within junk piles.

The car stopped in front of the main office, where Shady and Octavius led Marshall inside. Making their way to the back office, they closed the door. Shady shoved the desk aside and pulled up a section of carpeting. Octavius leaned over and Marshall could here the beeping sounds of a code being punched in, followed by a click as the cement floor began to slide over revealing an underground tunnel.

"Your working area is this way," Shady informed Marshall.

Marshall climbed down the metal ladder and into a state of the art operations facility. They continued down the hall past several areas before showing Marshall to his room.

"Here are your quarters, drop your gear and we'll show you where you'll be working," Octavius ordered.

Marshall did as he was told. They walked him down another corridor and into a computer room.

"This is where you will work your magic. You can start tomorrow morning. Take the night off and let me know if you need a doctor for your side. We have a few that work here."

"Thanks," Marshall replied.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Mary entered the Sunshine building trying to figure out where the last three months had gone. It was then she noticed the lack of commotion. She paused, looked around the room and noticed their FBI guests were no longer here. Briskly, she walked to Stan's office. She saw his face was red from anger and knew something was wrong.

"What?"

"Allison said the FBI team had finished its investigation into Marshall's death. She will be flying out with Faber later this week to give us their findings." Stan's voice was laced with anger.

"_What_? They don't know anything. We already know that. They're going to blow his death off," Mary replied heatedly.

"Seth is coming out to hear the results. He's furious with the information that I was able to tell him. _We _are not done investigating. Charlie and the others are going over different aspects of Marshall's death and they're running his financials."

"This doesn't make sense, Stan. When you talked to the FBI they didn't have anything. They magically figured it out?"

"I know that it isn't right and _we _will keep digging. I got the impression from my conversation with Allison that she is expecting us to disagree with the findings of their investigation."

"Damn straight. That's what you get when you run a half assed investigation. What do you need me to do?" Mary asked.

"That autopsy report is still bugging me. Marshall's dental records will be here in the morning. You and I are going to look over that and the autopsy report before we go pay the medical examiner a visit. In the meantime, go check on the witnesses and when you come back, we can go over what the others have so far."

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Marshall went into the bathroom to check his side, while using the opportunity to send Allison another message.

_In Chicago, junkyard in the city. Main office building has hidden facility underground. Entrance is hidden under carpeting below desk in the back office. Grounds contain several hidden buildings, snipers and surveillance equipment. Will be hard to breach without casualties. Grounds are heavily armed. Start work in the morning._

Allison checked her phone for the message. Swearing under her breath, she knew she needed more time. Quickly she called her contact.

"Sir, we have a problem."

"What's the problem?"

"They are starting Mann tomorrow morning. We need at least two days to get the correct team into play."

"Send Mann a message to delay the one file. Tell him is the one he needs to delay. It has the virus in it, when he opens the file the virus will go into Octavius's computer system. The records I need destroyed from his file will be gone and Octavius or Shady will get rid of Mann. He can come up with his own excuse as to why it's not working. Get your team ready to leave tonight and I'll make sure my son is on his way with his team."

"Just remind him that not everyone is in on this. He needs to separate himself from the others to get rid of Mann. I'm getting the documentation together to make it look like Marshall was involved with Octavius for his own personal gain," Allison said before hanging up and texting Marshall.

_Need two days for the team. Make up an excuse to not use the . It would be the most likely to have a problem. Make it happen, Inspector Mann._

Marshall was surprised when his phone beeped. Seeing the message, he wondered why she picked that program.

He texted Allison with an acknowledgment and grabbed his other untraceable phone. It was time to cover his backside just in case his instincts were right.

_Jack, if you don't hear from me by Tuesday send the package overnight to Bobby Dershowitz, in care of the Special Task Force team with the Chicago P.D. Thanks for your help. M.M._

Marshall knew Jack wouldn't let him down. Now all he had to do was come up with a cover story for the program not working.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Marshall went to work the following morning. Octavius was looking for import and export vessel information. Marshall had the feeling the information was for the human trafficking parts of his business, it would explain the young female voices he thought he heard last night while he was returning to his room. Octavius and Shady entered the room for a status update.

"Wayne, how's it going?" Shady asked.

"I have the import and export information, but there was a problem with one of the other programs. There appears to be a change in the firewall, and I will need to update my program in order for it to extract the information you wanted." Marshall replied.

"How long?" Octavius asked.

"I'm thinking two to three days. Four would be the absolute most. It depends on how much I have to tweak."

Octavius wasn't happy with the news, but they were ahead of schedule anyways. Wayne wasn't supposed to be here for another two weeks. His inventory would still arrive earlier then anticipated and his buyer would be thrilled.

"Call it a night and start it again in the morning. Working off a fresh mind is better than overloading a tired one," Octavius replied.

Marshall was surprised that Octavius didn't want him burning the midnight oil.

"Are you sure? I can keep going."

"I'm positive. Get some sleep, Wayne." Octavius dismissed him.

"What are you thinking?" Shady asked, after Wayne left the room.

"I'm thinking between working like a dog for a month, getting shot at and relocated again our relative genius is tired and more likely to make a mistake without getting some sleep. Computer systems get updated, it's not really a surprise. We're still ahead of schedule and we have the other information we need."

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Mary swiped herself into the office and was met by Stan.

"What's going on?" Mary asked, concerned.

"You and I are going to go have a conversation with Dr. Bob Evans," Stan replied.

"Did you get Marshall's dental records?" Mary asked.

"Marshall's dental records were sent to me this morning. The fax machine was acting up so I called to verify that this was everything that they sent to the medical examiner. I was told Dr. Bob Evans cancelled his request for Marshall's dental records," Stan replied.

"Then how the hell did he identify the body as Marshall's?"

"That is what we're about to go find out," Stan said.

"I'm driving," Mary replied as they headed to the elevator.

The car ride to the medical examiner's office was undertaken in silence. Both Mary and Stan were lost in their own thoughts.

"We should've gone over there the second our guts told us something was wrong with that report," Mary said, breaking the silence.

"I know, but it felt like we were grasping for anything just to find someone to blame for Marshall's death," Stan replied.

"Stan, what if the body isn't Marshall's?"

"Then we change the whole scope of the investigation. Marshall would've contacted us to let us know something was going on. He would've never put his family or us through a funeral if he was alive."

"What if he couldn't? What if someone has him, Stan? Do you realize that it's been three months that he's been gone?" Mary's mind was filling up with all the possibilities of what Marshall might have, or was possibly going through.

"Right now we don't know anything. Let's just take this one step at a time. If we find out for sure that the body we buried wasn't Marshall then we'll do everything possible to find him," Stan said, trying to stay level headed because if that wasn't Marshall all hell would break loose. Mary would hunt down anyone involved and he sure as hell wouldn't stop her. Hell, he'd be right along side her.

Mary parked the car and took a deep breath. Whatever they were about to find out could change everything in an instant.

Stan and Mary made their way to the M.E.'s office.

"Dr. Bob Evans?" Stan asked the man in the room.

"Yes. How can I help you?"

"We'd like to ask you a few questions in regards to a case that you worked on three months ago," Stan replied.

"Who are you and what case?" Evans asked.

"I'm Chief Inspector McQueen of the U.S. Marshal Service and this is Inspector Shannon. You called me to tell me that you had identified the body of an explosion victim as that of Inspector Marshall Mann by using his dental records. I'd like to know how you managed to do that when you cancelled your request for his dental records," Stan said angrily.

Evans paled at the question. He knew that case would come back to bite him. He should've never agreed to it.

"Allison Pearson told me to," Evans said, making his way to the safe he had stowed the proper information in.

Mary saw him moving and pulled her gun. "Don't even think about running or I'll kill you."

"I just need to get into the safe. I saved the real information from the case, including her business card and time your Director asked me to do this. It was an odd request, but she said it was sanctioned by the Marshal's Service for a case they were working on. It's was important for the safety of the marshal involved," Evans replied.

"Where's the safe? I'll get the information from it," Stan said, moving to the location indicated by Evans. Getting the combination to the safe Stan opened it.

"It's the document on the bottom of the safe. It has all my original findings," Evans replied, glancing nervously at Mary's Glock that was still pointed at him.

"Got it. Mary, lower your weapon," Stan ordered. "There are no comparison dental records in this file at all."

"Start explaining," Mary demanded.

"May I?" Evans asked, pointing to the file Stan held. He took the information and laid it out on the table. "These are the dental records of the corpse. The sheets next to that are what I would've put in the file if your Director hadn't stopped by. This victim didn't take very good care of their teeth at all."

"Marshall brushes, flosses and even uses fluoride on his teeth. He's meticulous about his health," Mary replied, while Stan handed Evans Marshall's dental records.

"There is no way that this is the person that died in the fire," Evans said, putting up the two dental records for comparison.

"Describe the Director that came to see you and everything that was said," Stan ordered. They listened as Evans gave the description of the woman who came to see him.

"That's definitely Allison," Mary said.

"I want these files. If Allison calls you at anytime, you will _not _tell her that we were here. As far as you're concerned, we've never met. You are also not to leave town. Do I make myself clear?" Stan asked.

"Very," Evans replied, watching as the two marshals left.

Mary waited until they were back in her car.

"Where the hell is Marshall? Does she have him working undercover? None of this makes any sense, Stan."

"Allison specifically told Evans not to include us on this information. She wanted us to believe Marshall died in that explosion. If Marshall is undercover for Allison, when did he get the assignment? Assignments go through me."

Mary was thinking it all through when a thought hit her.

"Allison sent Marshall on that prison transport when Faber came to town the first time. She texted Marshall directly about that assignment, when he came back he blew it off like it was nothing. He never talked about it afterwards."

"Why wouldn't Marshall tell us? It's not who he is. There's no way he would've gone off on assignment without telling us. Do you honestly think he'd agree to let us believe he was dead? Marshall cares about all of us, Mary, he wouldn't do that to us," Stan said.

"What if he didn't have a choice? Look, I know Marshall would never deliberately hurt us. It isn't in his nature, but he would if there was a reason behind it. Stan, is he dead? Or alive and out there on his own?" Mary asked, not able to hide her concern.

"I honestly don't know what to think. I want us to look at it from both angles. Allison stays out of the loop until she arrives. When she gets here then she can start explaining to us what is going on. I want Dr. Evans brought to the office for her to see, but not until we have her in the conference room. In the meantime, we start backtracking Marshall's whereabouts from his prison transport and we recheck any threats to him. Also, let's check New Orleans. You thought he was there. Maybe he was," Stan replied.

Mary's face paled at that thought. Could she have been that close to Marshall?

"I can't bury Marshall again, Stan. If he's out there he has to be alive. I can't go through this all over again."

"If Marshall is alive, then we'll find him and bring him home," Stan replied.

"Well, he better have a good explanation for all of this if he is or I swear Marshall is never going to be able to sit on his ass again," Mary said, not sure if she should be hopeful or angry.


	6. Chapter 6

Marshall had been contacted via text by Allison. The team would be in place tonight. He could run the program around ten o'clock so the teams could get into position. Something about why that program was so valuable to Allison was weighing on Marshall's mind. He didn't call Jack on Tuesday. He wanted Dershowitz to have the package. He hoped that his family and friends would listen to it and know why he had to take this assignment.

While Marshall was pretending to be working on the program, he took the time to download the executable file Allison didn't want him to run onto a flashdrive. He couldn't help but think there was something to that file. Allison singled it out for a reason and he wouldn't be happy until he knew what it was. He just hoped he lived to be able to do that. He also decided to copy as many of Octavius' files while he had a chance. He focused on the gun running part first, wondering if there was correlation to the file Allison didn't want him to run and Octavius' business.

He had just finished copying the all the information and sticking the flash drive in his pocket when Octavius entered.

"Wayne, how soon before the program is up and running?"

"I'm almost finished with the corrections. I'm expecting to have it up and running by tonight." Marshall replied.

"In that case, once the program is done you can join us for a sample of our latest shipment before it goes out," Octavius smiled widely.

"What shipment would that be?" Marshall asked wearily.

"You need a stress relief, computer man. I've got a girl for you. It's important to make sure the merchandise lives up to its expectations." Octavius laughed as he left the room.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Mary and Stan stepped out of the elevator in the Sunshine building to find Seth Mann sitting at Marshall's computer typing away.

"Seth?" Stan asked, surprised to see him here already. He expected him to arrive Thursday.

"What did the two of you find out about Marshall's death? Who killed my son?" Seth demanded.

Mary shot Stan a look that screamed 'do we tell him?'

"I don't know what Allison is going to say to us when she arrives, but I do know it will be a lie. She's hiding something from us," Stan said.

Seth knew Stan was holding something back and Mary had yet to look him in the eye.

"What else do you know? Tell me. He _was my son_. I know that I wasn't the greatest father to him, but I loved Marshall whether you believe it or not. I need answers. My whole family needs the truth in order to heal," Seth said, revealing more then he should, but no longer caring. His wife was an empty shell and he and his sons lived with the guilt of not spending more time with Marshall.

"Let's go into the conference room," Stan suggested.

Shutting the door he turned around before looking straight at Seth while noticing Mary still hadn't said a word.

"It wasn't Marshall's body they found in the house," Stan said, before explaining the conversation they had with the coroner.

"You don't know if he's alive or dead, do you?" Seth asked, looking straight to Mary.

"No," Mary said softly.

"So what are you looking into and tell me what I can do to help," Seth said.

Stan and Mary filled him in on what they did know, what they suspected about New Orleans, and how they were trying to track Marshall's movements when they were suddenly interrupted by Charlie.

"What's up, Charlie?" Stan asked.

"I was checking Marshall's financials and was wondering why he would have bought himself a Berretta when he had two Glocks. Does he collect hand guns?"

"No, he liked the Berretta when we were at the gun show, but he didn't see the purpose of getting a third hand gun," Mary replied.

"Why the hell would he buy another gun? Marshall wouldn't spend the money on a gun because he liked it. He would buy his gadgets and movies way before that," Seth said.

"Charlie, check the shooting range videos, see if he did any target practice with it," Stan ordered.

"What are you thinking?" Mary asked.

"If Marshall was sent undercover he'd need a gun. He wouldn't want to bring a standard law enforcement weapon."

"I raised my boys to always know their weapons inside and out because it could be the difference between life and death," Seth said.

"So we see if he practiced with it, but it still doesn't tell us where he is. All it does is add more to our theory he was sent undercover," Mary reminded.

"Marshall hides people for a living. It's the little things that add clues in order to help us find him. You start contacting New Orleans and see if you can find any store, shop or restaurant near the hotel where you thought you saw Marshall with security footage that might show your partner," Stan said.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Marshall inserted the disc into the system after double checking his pockets for the flashdrive. The teams should be in place, so it was time for the final component to be put into play.

Octavius and Shady both walked into the room.

"How's the fix?" Octavius asked anxiously.

"I was just about to start the program," Marshall replied.

Shady and Octavius shared a pleased smile.

"Do you need to be here while it runs?" Shady asked.

"No, I can put it in and start it. I'll have to be available to shut it down later, so no one catches us in their system. That might be an hour or two."

"It's time for us to celebrate, my friend. You reward awaits you." Octavius made a grand gesture.

Marshall had no interest in this kind of party and was now grateful for the bust. This kind of thing turned his stomach. Forcing an eager look on his face, he grinned.

"Lead the way," Marshall replied, after typing in a few commands.

Octavius led him through several halls and into a large room where several of his team were drinking and mixing with the girls. These girls were getting their first taste of a miserable future. Marshall was glad that they'd be free after tonight was done.

Octavius stopped in front of one of the girls, "Wayne, this is Roxie and she is yours for the evening. Roxie, you'll be wise to do whatever he asks of you. We don't want another incident like before."

Roxie nodded, she had been on the punishment end of Mr. Falcon and wanted no part of it again. She reached out and grabbed Marshall's hand and started leading him down a hallway.

Marshall looked at his watch. The operation was going into effect in five minutes. He looked at Roxie.

"How old are you?"

Roxie was taken aback by the question. These men just used them. They didn't want to know anything about them.

"How old do you want me to be?" she asked suggestively.

"Roxie, please just answer the question."

"What does it matter?"

Marshall smiled before answering. "Everything matters. From this point you can change your future." He had to take a chance because he really wasn't sure he could get himself out of the junkyard, and if he didn't, he wanted the flashdrive to get to his friends.

"You're different than the others." Roxie had been around the block a few times already. She knew how to read people.

"Look, I'm going to tell you something and then I'm going to get you out of here. I need a favor in return," Marshall said.

"Not so different after all." Roxie couldn't hide her disappointment. She felt hope for a second when she looked into his eyes.

"Not _that_ kind of favor. I have something that I need to have delivered to a Bobby Dershowitz at the Chicago P.D. He's on a special task force. I need you to take this flashdrive and give it to him. Tell him that it's from Marshall Mann. He'll question you. Tell him I said the road trip to Philly to deliver Tanks was a blast. Then do yourself a favor; go home and back to school. Make a real life for yourself."

"You're a cop?"

"A U.S. Marshal," he confirmed.

"Right," Roxie replied sarcastically, but then gunfire began to erupt. She stared at him, frightened.

"I'll do everything I can to get you out of here. All I ask is that you get this to Dershowitz in return." Marshall hoped she agreed while holding out the flashdrive. She had no reason to trust him, just like he had no reason to trust her. His options were limited and his instinct was telling him to trust her.

"Alright," Roxie agreed hesitantly.

"Do you know of any other ways out of here?" Marshall asked. He had only been in the one area.

"They dragged us through a door down the hall and out the back," Roxie replied.

"Alright, tell me which way to go when we leave this room, I'll get you to the surface and find a way to get you out of here. Once you're off the premises, don't look back. No matter what happens you need to get to the police station. Understand?" Marshall asked, slipping the gun out of his ankle holster.

"Got it," Roxie said, eyes wide as she stared at the gun. Hoping she was making the right choice as they entered the hallway.

Marshall followed every turn Roxie told him to make, wondering just how long she had been here. When they came to the doorway, he glanced around to make sure it was safe to move. Not seeing anyone around, he briefly wondered if it was a trap.

"Why is there no one here?" Marshall asked.

"It's not a well known entrance and even harder to find if you don't know what you're looking for. The outside of the entrance is hard to see, as it is surrounded by the crap in the junkyard. If you look closely you will see the door, if you aren't paying attention it will just blend in with the rest of the junk."

"How far to the edge of the perimeter?" Marshall asked.

"I don't know, it's not like they do anything but usher us in and out to be used for the evening." Roxie snapped at him.

"I'm not judging you, I was trying to get an idea how much area we need to cross without getting shot," Marshall replied, not wanting to upset her. Right now she was his only hope of getting an outside source that he trusted.

Marshall surveyed the area as they left the security of the door. Seeing a stack of cars stockpiled towards their left, he made up his mind. The gunfire was coming from their right and he could hear screams of 'FBI' and 'ATF'. He briefly noted that there wasn't one shout of 'U.S. Marshal'. Grabbing Roxie by the hand, he put his finger over his lips to caution her to stay quiet before leading her to the area with the old cars.

Marshall could see the fence and knew she was going to have to get over it mostly on her own. He could help her partially, but then it was up to Roxie. They climbed high enough so that she would be able to climb over the top of the fence with ease. Marshall tossed his coat to help cover the barbwire on the fence. He didn't want her to get injured.

"Alright, this is where you get your freedom back, Roxie. Here is the flashdrive. I kept my promise, I trust you to keep yours," Marshall said sincerely.

Roxie had never had anyone place trust in her, it was an odd feeling. "Thank you and I will."

She climbed over the fence and headed out into the night. She ran like he'd instructed and never looked back.

Marshall turned to make his way back through the grounds to see if he could help out. Seeing movement by a building to his right, he followed the figure into the building. With his gun drawn he began to scan the area. It was dark and hard to see, but Marshall lost the person he'd seen enter. He moved forward to exit out a side door when a noise caught his attention. Turning quickly, he came face to face with Faber.

"Hello, Marshall, Dad and I want to thank you for your help in deleting the proof of our family side business from Octavius' computer system. We couldn't have done it without you. I'll make sure to say hi to your colleagues when I return to Albuquerque."

"Faber, should've known you were dirty. What part does Allison play in all of this?" Marshall asked, pointing his gun at Mike.

"Allison wants to play with the big boys in Washington. Dad promised to help her get there if she helped make our family secrets disappear," Faber replied.

"Why me?" Marshall asked.

"You were in my way. I wanted another shot at Mary. I got to choose the rat. Think of all the disappointment your family will feel when you tarnish the legacy."

"They won't believe you. My family, Stan, and especially Mary, won't rest until they clear my name. You crucified yourself by your own choice," Marshall replied.

"Too bad you won't be alive long enough to find out. Don't worry, Allison and I'll be informing your friends and family of your betrayal tonight," Faber said.

Two shots were fired. One person fell to the floor while the other cradled his arm making his way out into the night.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Roxie ran through the streets of Chicago, trying to get far enough away from Octavius's place before heading to a precinct. Finally finding one, she walked in and headed straight to the front desk.

"Excuse me, officer." Roxie said, rolling her eyes at the way he looked at her in disgust.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes, I have something I need to give to a Detective Bobby Dershowitz who is on a special task force here in Chicago."

"You're in luck, he's working out of our office today. Who should I say is looking for him?"

"An acquaintance of Marshall Mann."

The officer nodded and called back to Dershowitz's desk.

Bobby was furious with whoever was here. How dare they bring Marshall up? He stormed to the front area and the officer pointed to the girl.

"What kind of game are you playing?" Bobby asked furiously.

"He said you'd question me. I'm supposed to tell you the road trip to Philly with Tanks was a blast. I hope that means something to you."

Bobby froze. There was no way she could know about that. He pulled out a picture he had of Mary, Marshall and him at a bar and showed it to Roxie.

"Is this the man you saw?" Bobby asked.

Roxie looked at the photo. "The smile and the build are the same, but the man I was with had black hair and green eyes. Definitely that smile though. Look, he gave me this flashdrive and asked me to give it to you. They are doing a massive bust at the junkyard and you might be able to catch up to him there."

Before Bobby could ask her anything else, a man entered carrying a box and asking for him.

"I'm Dershowitz," he turned towards the man. "Who are you?"

"Jack Carter, I'm a friend of Marshall Mann. He told me to ship this to you if I didn't hear back from him by last night. I didn't want to take a chance with this so I decided to drive it here instead."

"When was the last time you saw Marshall?" Bobby asked, when he noticed Jack's badge.

"In Leavenworth four months ago. He was called there by some boss of his. He didn't like what was going on and asked for some video and audio equipment. He mailed me this package and then texted me Monday night and told me to overnight it to you if I didn't hear from him by Tuesday. He never contacted me, so I took time off to deliver the package myself. I know that Marshall wouldn't have asked if it wasn't vital for you to receive this."

"Marshall died three months ago," Bobby replied.

"No he didn't. The text came in from a disposable phone I gave him. He wouldn't hand that over to anyone else. It was signed M.M."

Bobby turned back towards Roxie. "Where is the location of that warehouse?"

Roxie gave him the information before leaving the building. Jack noticed her slip out, but knew that Marshall was the priority here.

"Dershowitz, do me a favor. When you find Marshall have him call me to let me know that he's alright," Jack said.

"You don't want to come with?" Bobby asked.

"Yes, I do. The problem is I have to catch a flight back to be on time for an assignment. Marshall understands how things work. Bring him home alive," Jack said before leaving.

"Marshall, what in the hell did you get yourself into?" Bobby asked to no one and went to find some equipment to watch the video. He knew he would need to convince his boss that it was a good idea to go in. Bobby wanted to leave now, but without knowing who was on the right side of the law he could end up getting himself killed. Dying wouldn't help get Marshall out of there. He briefly debated calling Stan and Mary, but didn't have the heart to tell them Marshall was here just to find out he was dead again. He needed to know for sure before making that call.

After watching the video, Bobby's boss was convinced that a team should go check out the junkyard while he took the evidence to the Chicago Marshal Service to get arrest warrants issued. /\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Dershowitz showed up with his team, and they began to enter the premises. It was eerily quiet. It wasn't what you would expect from the scene of a major bust. It did nothing to ease his fears for Marshall.

Where were all the federal agents? Splitting up, Bobby and his team began to check from building to building. Bobby signaled to his partner to follow him into the next building.

Bobby was making his way through the building when he saw a lump on the floor. Grabbing a flashlight, he scanned the area looking for any trace of life. His heart about stopped when the flashlight came across a body on the ground. Bobby rushed forward to check for a pulse, when the man on the floor pointed a Berretta at his face. "Marshall," Bobby said, while signaling for his partner to stand down.

"Dershowitz?" Marshall asked, trying to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.

Bobby smiled when he heard the question.

"That's a lousy way to greet an old friend. How bad are you hurt? Can I turn you over?"

"Turn away, but be gentle please," Marshall deadpanned.

"Whoa!" Bobby was taken by the green eyes. "What did you do to yourself?"

Marshall looked puzzled at first, but remembered the contacts. "Non prescription lenses and a little hair dye. What took you so long?"

Bobby didn't miss the wince of pain that flashed across Marshall's face.

"Where are you hurt?" Bobby asked, ignoring the sarcastic remark.

"Bullet to the thigh. I need to get to Albuquerque. They're headed there."

"Who are they?" Bobby listened to Marshall's answers before continuing. "Well that trip will have to wait. You're going to the hospital. Why is it you and Shannon can't seem to stay out of trouble? I do believe you went over the top with this one though. You have some serious ass kissing to do when you get home."

"I need to go now," Marshall insisted. "Allison and Faber are going to tell Stan and Mary that I'm crooked. I have to be there to arrest them."

"You traveling all over hell's half acre with a bullet in your thigh won't do your body any good. You need medical treatment or you'll have an infection before we get to Albuquerque." Bobby tried again. "Why don't I call Mary and Stan? They can take care of Allison and Faber for you?"

"No, I need to do this myself. I have to see it through. I hurt the people I care about most in this world. I've done damage that I'm not even sure that I can be forgiven for. The only way to make this right is for me to bring Faber and Allison in. I'll tell Mary and Stan in person that I'm alive. It's the least I can do." Marshall replied.

"It will still take time to get the warrants. Let me take you to the hospital and let them take care of your wound. By the time their through, the warrants should be ready."

"It's in my thigh. I won't bleed out, but it will hurt like a pisser. I won't die from it and I'll get medical help when I'm through with Allison and Faber. Look, I know that I have no right to ask for anything at this point. The fact that you're still talking to me is a miracle in itself. I _need_ to do this, Bobby," Marshall said, looking Bobby straight in the eyes.

"Hell, Marshall, I saw the position they put you in and know full well you wouldn't have done it otherwise. My boss sent the evidence to the Chicago Marshal Service to get arrest warrants for the Fabers and the director. I'm not mad at you, I'm just happy to give my responsibilities of watching Stan and Mary back to you. That doesn't mean we disregard your thigh wound. Mary and Stan will have my hide if I bring you back with a bullet in you."

Marshall blanched at the phrase knowing it was from the letters he left with his attorney if he were to die. He never heard the rest of what Bobby said.

"Oh crap!" Marshall moaned.

Bobby smiled. "Yeah, Mary knows. That will be an interesting conversation for the two of you, but at least it's out in the open. Now, I'll get you back home on three conditions."

"They are?" Marshall asked, trying not to think about the fallout from the letters. He was screwed when he returned.

"One: you at least let my friend who is a doctor get the bullet out and clean the wound, before we leave. Two: By we, I mean you and me. You're not getting out of my sights until I can leave you to Stan and Mary. They'd shoot me if I found you, and then lost you. Three: as soon as we arrest Faber and Allison, you'll go to the hospital and get completely looked over. You look like crap, my friend, and it's not just the wound to the thigh," Bobby said seriously. Marshall looked worn out.

"How is everyone?" Marshall asked as Bobby began to help him up.

"Getting by. Nothing is the same. Mary and Stan are focused on finding your killers. So what's the game plan?"

"The game plan is to get to the desert and head to the Sunshine building. I'd prefer to arrest or shoot Allison and Faber before they get near Mary and Stan, but know realistically that won't happen. I'll go see your friend, but he better not do more than what you said. I don't want Mary or Stan to know I'm alive yet. I would rather have them blowing up on Allison for whatever lies she's going to feed them then for any suspicion get casts that they know they're crooked. I don't want Mary and Stan's life cut short because of me. Faber and Allison think I'm dead so that gives us time to get them. I doubt they'll be in a hurry or it will look suspicious. I also doubt Mary or Stan will let them leave without a lengthy conversation and some choice words," Marshall replied.

Bobby reluctantly agreed. He wanted to tell Stan and Mary, but didn't want to agitate Marshall. While Marshall was getting checked out he'd check on the status of the warrants and find a way to have Albuquerque P.D. stall Allison and Faber from arriving in a timely manner at the Sunshine building.

"Lose the contacts. The hair is weird enough but the green eyes are plain creepy," Bobby said as Marshall hobbled towards the car he indicated to his friend was his.

A few hours' later Marshall and Bobby were headed for a Lear jet with two arrests warrants on them. The Albuquerque P.D. was stalling Allison and Faber at the airport with a fake emergency. /\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Charlie entered the conference room with a bunch of surveillance videos.

"It took awhile, but I finally found footage from a shooting range. He didn't use ours," Charlie said.

"Play it," Stan ordered.

"That's not how Marshall shoots. He's working on changing his stance and his shooting style. Why?" Mary asked as they watched Marshall moving around trying to adjust and make it look natural.

"Maybe he wants to improve his stance or try something new?" Charlie said.

"Please, he was practically born with a gun in his hand. There is nothing wrong with his current stance and he's more than comfortable with the way he shoots." Mary replied before Seth could.

"Marshall is trying to make it look different. Look at his target. Marshall shoots a lot better than that. He's not just working on his stance, but also the accuracy of his shots. Allison definitely sent him undercover," Seth replied.

"I need to make a phone call to an old friend. See if she can do some discreet checking on Allison," Stan said excusing himself.

Mary's cell rang, quickly answering it she listened to what the person had to say before hanging up.

"I faxed off a picture of Marshall that was altered to show him with black hair. A couple of people from a souvenir shop stated it looked like a man that was in their store except the man they saw had green eyes. They're getting their security company to send us the footage. Damn it! I was so close to him," Mary bit out.

"Why the cloak and dagger? This whole thing stinks from the get go. Why would my son agree to this? He had to know he would be hurting a lot of people. What the hell did they use against him? There's no way he would do this without a reason," Seth replied.

Stan nodded in agreement before stepping outside to make a call to Eleanor.

"Eleanor, I need a huge favor," Stan said, before explaining what was happening.

"I'll trace all of Allison's calls and let you know what I find out. I'll fax them as soon as I can. I'll see what other information that I can dig up for you. Promise me the minute you know something, that you'll call me. Oh, and give Mary my permission to make sure Allison dies a slow and painful death. She deserves it for what she's done to all of us," Eleanor stated angrily.

"I promise, I'll let you know what happens," Stan replied.

"Make sure Mary and Seth go easy on Marshall when you find him. There's no way this could be easy on him. He's been out on his own for three months, Stan. Remember what you told me about what Seth said to Mary? Marshall is sensitive and it's a good thing for his job, but, Stan, it can't be good for his emotional well being, especially knowing that he hurt the people he cares most about. He's going to have doubts about how we feel about him. Don't let Mary and Seth respond in anger because it's how they deal with things," Eleanor cautioned. She didn't want Marshall to doubt himself or them.

"Thanks, Eleanor. I'll talk to you later," Stan replied. He was feeling exhausted from all of the emotional drama and the worrying about his surrogate son.

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The jet touched down at the airport and Bobby moved over to wake Marshall. He had fallen into a restless sleep. Bobby couldn't imagine what this had been like for his friend. He doubted Marshall had seen a decent night's sleep in a long time.

"Marshall, we're here."

Marshall looked at Bobby. He felt nervous and anxious about seeing Mary and Stan again.

"Let's go," Marshall replied, more confidently then he felt.

Bobby helped him up and continued to watch the painful expressions on Marshall's face.

"How's the thigh?"

"Hurts like hell, but I'm good."

Bobby nodded and helped Marshall into the waiting car. Bobby sped through the streets of Albuquerque headed directly for the Sunshine Building. The police had managed to keep Faber and Allison hung up until a half an hour ago.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Allison had called Stan to let him know that she and Faber were on their way. They arrived to see Mary, Stan and Seth in the conference room. She strode right into the conference room and put a folder face open on the table before addressing the three of them.

"Faber and his team put a lot of time and effort into finding out what happened to Inspector Mann. I do want you to consider this before going off on any tirade," she glared at Mary specifically.

"As long as it's the truth, we have no problem with it," Mary replied.

"It appears things weren't all that they appeared to be with Inspector Mann. We have proof that he was selling valuable information to a man that the FBI has wanted for years," Allison said.

"The hell he was!" Seth said, slamming his fist down onto the table. He knew they needed a few more minutes for the fax from Eleanor to arrive.

"What's the matter, Faber? Figured out that Marshall was a much better person then you and are trying to take him down a notch?" Mary hissed, knowing what Seth was doing.

Stan's phone rang before he could say something. Answering it, he listened intently before turning towards Mary.

"The information for your case has arrived, downstairs. George is holding onto it for you."

Mary had to think for a second before she realized he was telling her Eleanor's fax had arrived.

"I'll be right back. This conversation is far from being over," Mary said, glaring at Mike and Allison before getting into the elevator.

Mary was tired and knew whatever Eleanor faxed was the icing on the cake for this meeting. Her mind was so focused on the task at hand she didn't see the person walking towards her until they collided.

"Watch where you're going, idiot," Mary bit out, turning to grab the papers from George.

"Nice to see you too, Sunshine," Marshall teased lightly, not sure how she'd respond.

Mary had been flipping through the papers reading the damning information that connected the dots for her. Allison had made calls to Senator Faber, who Eleanor found out had been calling Mike. They all centered around the same time that Marshall had been missing. It was as she was heading back to the elevators that the words spoken finally registered. Mary felt her heartbeat begin to race. She whispered the words again. It couldn't be, could it? A part of her wanted to turn around desperately, but another part was afraid that if she did, he wouldn't be there. She couldn't take that kind of heartbreak.

Marshall knew she was debating about what to do. He knew that he needed to give her a sign that it was really him.

"Tell me what you need," Marshall spoke the words she would recognize.

Mary's eyes filled with tears. Turning around she ran back to where he was and threw her arms around his neck. "Marshall, my Marshall," she spoke the words repeatedly, letting it really sink in.

Bobby looked at the pair and decided to leave them alone for a few minutes.

"I'll explain to Stan what's going on." Bobby said, and Marshall acknowledged him.

Mary pulled back briefly and looked at Bobby.

"Stan is in a meeting with Faber and Pearson. We were just about to ask her what she did with Marshall. She doesn't know that we found out about the body placed in his house."

"Even better. That'll make arresting them easier," Bobby replied.

"What?" Mary asked.

"We have the warrants for their arrests, compliments of the Chicago Marshal's office," Marshall replied.

"I'll wait by the elevator," Bobby said. "Don't let him out of your sights, Mary."

"Not a chance in hell," Mary smiled, before she began to look Marshall over. "You _were_ in New Orleans.".

"Yes, I wanted to go after you, but I knew it wasn't safe for you or your witness. I wasn't sure who the good or bad guys were. I really didn't know much at the time, except that it wasn't safe for you to be near me. I'm so sorry, Mary, but I had to do this."

Mary saw the pain in his eyes and decided to not ream him a new one just yet. They would definitely have a talk about this, but he was already hurting and until this was all over she would wait and for now enjoy the fact that he was alive.

"Connect the dots for me, Marshall," Mary demanded.

"Can we do it upstairs? I'd rather just go over this once for now, but not until Faber and Allison are in cuffs. I promise I'll answer your questions," Marshall said.

"You're going to need to add your father to that list. He's up there too," Mary replied.

Marshall paled. The people he wanted to protect besides Mary were all in a room with two people who wouldn't hesitate to kill them. He felt fear well up inside of him.

"Mary, we need to get up there now. I need them in cuffs before they hurt someone."

"They've already hurt all of us, Marshall. In ways they can't even comprehend," Mary replied.


	7. Chapter 7

Mary, Marshall and Bobby rode up the elevator in silence. Bobby watched as Mary kept in physical contact with Marshall, even if it was just the slightest touch. He could see the tension in Marshall's shoulders and knew that he was worried about Stan and Seth since he had overhead the ending of Marshall's conversation with Mary. Knowing what they had threatened to do to Marshall's father, Stan and Mary, he couldn't blame Marshall for his concern.

Marshall couldn't shake the uneasiness he felt as the elevator seemed to move at a snail's pace up to their floor. He knew Faber would shoot Stan or his father without a single thought. He also knew that his father and Stan would have no problem vocalizing their indignation at the accusations that were being made against his character and cause tension between the occupants of the room. None of this bode well for anyone. As the elevator reached their floor, they could hear the raised voices before the doors opened.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Seth and Stan were trying to figure out what was taking Mary so long to get back. They were doing the best they could to stall as Allison and Faber began to head towards the elevator. Stan and Seth moved in front of them to prevent them from leaving.

"What are you trying to hide?" Seth hissed. "Don't tell me that you're trying to save my son's good name by stopping the investigation. The only reason that you're stopping this investigation is because you're covering someone else's ass. This has nothing to do with my son. This is about you protecting someone other than Marshall. You both know full well my son didn't do anything that you said. He wasn't capable of that."

"We are not trying to hide anything, Mr. Mann…" Allison started but was interrupted by the arrival of the elevator.

"Sure they are," Mary said, stepping out of the elevator. She glared at Mike and Allison as she and Bobby exited in front of Marshall. "The Director here has been in contact with Senator Faber, Mike Faber and of course, Marshall. Somehow I don't think you were trying to help Marshall though. Oh yeah, let's not forget you told the medical examiner to tell us that Marshall was dead. What was it that you told the ME? Oh that's right, 'it's vital to the safety of my inspector that no one knows.' You purposefully sent my partner on an assignment you had no intention him returning from."

Allison said nothing as she tried to figure out how to respond to the accusations. She was about to reply when Marshall exited the elevator. Time briefly stood still in the room until Faber quickly pulled his gun and took aim at Seth when he realized he didn't have a shot at Marshall.

"Dad," Marshall yelled, pushing Seth to the floor while taking the bullet meant for his father.

"Marshall!" Mary screamed as she pulled her Glock and shot Faber before he could squeeze the trigger again. Quickly she turned her focus towards Allison. "Give me an excuse and I'll drop you where you stand."

Bobby moved in before Mary went through with her threat and quickly cuffed Allison while Stan checked to see if Faber had a pulse. Shaking his head no, he moved towards Seth since Mary was already at Marshall's side.

"Marshall. Marshall, look at me," Mary said, frantically pulling her button down shirt off to stop the flow of blood. "Somebody, call an ambulance."

"Seth, are you injured?" Stan asked, while waiting for his 911 call to be picked up.

Seth heard Mary's call for an ambulance and registered Stan's question, then quickly looked for his son.

"I'm fine, how's Marshall?" Seth said, scrambling towards his son.

"Talk to me, partner," Mary said, staring into his blue eyes.

"Hurts," Marshall replied.

"That's the funny thing about bullets, they usually do. Are you trying to give me a heart attack? You just came back from the dead. What the hell were you thinking?" Mary asked, continuing to apply pressure to his wound.

"Ambulance is on the way. Bobby get her out of here," Stan said, glaring at Allison.

"I'll drop her off and meet you at the hospital," Bobby replied, before remembering to tell them about Marshall's earlier injury.

Mary was about to let Marshall have an earful after hearing he'd already been shot, but could tell he was fighting to keep his eyes open.

"Any other injuries you'd like to report, old or new?" Mary asked, trying not to upset Marshall while keeping herself calm at the same time. When she saw the look on his face that meant he was debating something, she rolled her eyes. "Where else?"

"Side, but it was only a graze. I'm just tired, Mare," Marshall said. "Dad?"

"I'm right here, Marshall. Keep those eyes open we want to see those eyes. Stay with us son," Seth said.

"Hurt?" Marshall asked.

"No, I'm fine, son. You shouldn't have pushed me out of the way," Seth said.

"I'm not sorry. Please don't be mad. Mom needs you," Marshall replied.

"Marshall, I'm not mad at you. _We _all need you, especially your mother. There's been a huge void in our lives for the last three months that nothing could fix except for your return. Your mother is going to be beside herself with joy when she hears you're back, although, I don't think your being injured is going to go over well," Seth said, but couldn't continue as the paramedics showed up, stabilized Marshall and took him to the ambulance.

"I'll meet you at the hospital," Stan said to Seth and Mary as they both climbed into the ambulance.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Seth paced the waiting room floor while Mary sat on the edge of a chair with her leg nervously bouncing up and down. Mary and Seth quickly diverted their eyes towards the door when they heard it open. Stan entered and knew from their demeanor that there hadn't been any word on Marshall.

"Bobby should be here in a few moments. The FBI is going to handle Allison so he dropped her off to them," Stan said.

"Did Bobby tell you how he found Marshall?" Seth asked.

"No, he said he'd explain when he arrived and that there was something we needed to see that would fill in the details,' Stan said.

"What the hell does that mean?" Mary asked.

"Bobby knows why Marshall accepted the job," Seth said uncertainly.

"That was my impression," Stan replied.

"Have you called Carolyn?" Mary asked Seth.

"Not until I know what's happening with Marshall. I'm sure he'll be fine, but I can't tell her we found him and lost him again if something goes wrong. It would destroy her," Seth said, thinking it would destroy him if Marshall died trying to save him. He couldn't lose his son again, it would be too much.

"Did he say anything to you?" Seth asked Mary.

"No, he said he wanted to tell us all at once, but was worried with you and Stan being upstairs with Allison and Faber. He's hurting and worried about how we're going to react to all of this. I thought the first time I saw him if he was alive that I would ream him a new one for putting us through hell, but I was so relieved to see him that I couldn't," Mary replied.

"I think before any of us reams Marshall we should get the facts first. This couldn't have been easy on him either. There had to be a reason he agreed to this and never tried to contact us. It's not in him to be cruel," Stan said, hoping that Mary and Seth would wait before lecture Marshall about his actions. He was worried how his surrogate son was going to respond to their reactions to him. If they came off too harsh it would do far more damage than just his guilt would.

Bobby had walked in unnoticed by the others as they were busy talking. After hearing what was being said, he decided to pipe in.

"Marshall didn't get much of a choice in any of this. He was pretty much blackmailed into it from the get go."

"Bobby, what do you know?" Stan asked.

"Here," Bobby said, handing Stan a copy of the video that Marshall sent him. "It's the video with audio of his meetings with Allison in Leavenworth. Marshall apparently used an old acquaintance of his to get the equipment. He taped what happened there and a percentage of what he was doing while undercover in Octavius' operation."

"What friend?" Seth asked.

"Jack Carter," Bobby replied.

"Marshall's old roommate from college," Seth said.

Bobby continued to explain everything he knew from his contact with Roxie to finding Marshall.

"Why don't I find out how much longer they think Marshall will be? If it will be awhile then you can watch the video, and I can come get you if there's any word on him."

Before anyone could answer, Eleanor came into the room.

"Any word?"

"How did you know?" Mary asked, confused by Eleanor's arrival.

"Please, a U.S. Marshal and a U.S. Senator have warrants issued for their arrests. That kind of information doesn't stay secret for long, especially for me. Just long enough to make sure they don't find out before their arrests and long enough for me not to be able to call you to warn you. Once I heard it was Allison, I caught a flight out hoping to see that Marshall was okay," Eleanor replied hopefully.

"Marshall's in surgery," Stan said filling her in on what happened.

Bobby excused himself to check on Marshall's status.

"Alright, the nurse said they're still working on Marshall. You should have enough time to watch the important part before they finish up. I have the video at the point you'll want to start with, the rest you can watch at your discretion. The nurse couldn't tell me how he was doing, so don't look at me like I know something you don't," Bobby said to Mary, trying to ignore her glare.

"You knew a lot more than we did and never bothered to call and tell us," Mary fumed.

"Your partner was upset enough, Mary. I wasn't going to traumatize him more than he's already been. Just watch the damn video," Bobby replied, aggravated.

"Fine," Mary huffed before heading out to the conference room to watch the video.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Bobby sat in the waiting room knowing that the information his friends were about to learn would infuriate them. His mind drifted to Marshall. All this time stuck out on his own, scared to reach out to the people he trusts without risking their lives. Bobby couldn't help but wish Allison had given Mary a reason to shoot her.

Eleanor had stayed with Bobby. She wanted to know the whys of the charade, but knew Mary and Stan would fill her in when they were done. Before she could finish that thought the door slammed open.

"I should've shot Allison," Mary said, storming into the room closely followed by Seth and Stan. She then began to pace back and forth. "How did we not know something was wrong? Marshall doesn't keep things from me."

Eleanor unwittingly snorted at that statement.

"Marshall can keep secrets from any of us, if he deems it important enough," Eleanor replied. "What did you find out?"

"Allison started off with the normal threats. His job, any chance of promotion, until she realized it didn't matter to Marshall. He rightfully questioned why he was being asked to do this job when there were other agencies better suited for this operation," Stan said.

Seth chimed in," Allison said he was needed for the assignment and when he questioned it, she threatened to interfere in my retirement if he didn't help. That woman stressed the case was that important to the Marshal's Service. When he still hesitated, Allison threatened to get Mary kicked out of the service and Stan demoted, if not fired, for not being able to control his people. She reminded Marshall that he was supposed to follow her order as she was his boss. Marshall reminded her that this really wasn't a WITSEC operation and should be fielded to more qualified agent. When she refused she mentioned that it would be an unfortunate thing to have him return to Albuquerque to find out his boss and partner were killed in an unfortunate accident."

"Marshall, of course, didn't know who Allison has connections to or if she'd actually follow through on her threat, so he agreed to the subterfuge. She stuck Marshall out there all on his own and used us to keep him on the job," Mary said angrily.

"Why didn't he call?" Eleanor asked. Marshall was pretty resourceful at finding ways to communicate.

"Allison had all our phones being traced. I mean all of them; office, home and cell. Apparently she even put them on yours, Bobby's, his brothers and their wives. Anyone she thought Marshall would try to call was tapped. Our home and work computers were being monitored also. There was no safe way for him to contact us without putting us at risk," Stan replied.

"So Allison sets Marshall up with a bull's eye on his back, let's us believe he's dead so we won't go looking for him, threatens him and leaves him to take the fall. For what? What did she have to gain by doing this to Marshall, and why him?" Eleanor asked.

"That would be in the parts you haven't had the chance to listen to. This was all about Senator Faber offering to get her into a higher position in D.C. For Allison it was about the power. For the Fabers it was about destroying the evidence of their illegal activities to increase their net worth. Now that they didn't need the money, Senator Faber wanted their connection to Falcon gone from any and all files. So they planted a virus in the program they gave Marshall to use to access information for Octavius. Mike Faber chose Marshall for some reason," Bobby said.

"That's my fault," Mary said softly. "Faber wanted another shot with me. He picked Marshall because he thought my partner was the reason I dumped him."

"Mary, this is not your fault and it's not Marshall's. You told Faber you were over and he should have accepted that. Marshall was the victim of circumstances. They used the only thing against Marshall they could to get him involved. He questioned it from the beginning and covered his butt to make sure we would know what happened. The only people to blame here are Allison and the Fabers," Stan said firmly.

A doctor entered the room and all eyes turned to him.

"Family of Marshall Mann?"

"I'm his father," Seth replied.

"Please have a seat," the doctor said.

"How's my son?"

"The bullet hit some muscle in his shoulder. We managed to repair the muscle and it should take approximately four to six weeks to heal completely. He'll need a sling and physical therapy for his shoulder. The bullet wound to the thigh was already cleaned out and patched up, but a few stitches were torn loose so we fixed them. The wound to the side was infected so we cauterized the wound and gave him some antibiotics. Other than that your son needs a lot of rest. We'll keep him here for a couple of days just to make sure there are no complications. A nurse will take you to his room as soon as he's settled in. It could be awhile before he wakes up," the doctor replied.

"As long as he wakes up, we don't mind," Mary replied honestly.

"Thanks, doctor," Stan and Seth said at the same time.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Marshall looked so pale lying on the hospital bed. Mary was still trying to get used to the black hair, it looked so strange on him. Sitting on the opposite side of the bed as Seth, she watched him hesitate to reach for Marshall's hand.

"Why is it so hard for you to show Marshall that you love him?" Mary asked, unable to stop herself. The look Seth shot her made her veins run cold briefly. She couldn't imagine what it had been like for Marshall growing up with that kind of scrutiny.

"Probably for the same reason you have such a hard time admitting you love my son. We're both scared that we aren't what he needs. I made a lot of mistakes where Marshall was concerned, and I almost lost my chance to try and fix them. You and I have been given a second chance with him. I, for one, don't intend to blow it," Seth said, not caring if it was too personal for either of them.

For three months his son was dead and they all struggled to deal with it. Now they have the chance to rectify the mistakes of the past and both he and Mary needed to hear the words. It was time for both of them to stop running and face their mistakes. Seth knew he couldn't force Mary to, but he swore at that moment to get to know his son, to learn to accept the differences and to try and be the father he should've been to Marshall.

Mary wasn't going to have this conversation with Seth, even though she knew his words were accurate. She would talk to Marshall when he was feeling better. The road ahead was going to be a bumpy ride for all of them.

Seth could tell Mary needed some time alone by the way she looked at his son. She had something to say to him, but wouldn't unless they were alone. He may not know her well, but he knew enough to know she didn't do personal with an audience. He still needed to tell Carolyn so she could be on the next flight to Albuquerque, and took the opportunity to give Mary some alone time with Marshall.

"I need to call my wife with the news. Will you stay with Marshall?"

"Always," Mary replied, as she waited for the door to close behind Seth.

Mary gently reached over and held Marshall's hand as she felt a few tears streak down her face. She knew she wouldn't have much time before Stan and Eleanor came back from getting coffee.

"Okay, Marshall, you and I have a ton to talk about, but I promise no matter what is said that I won't run for the hills. I lost you once and couldn't survive losing you again. I can't promise you some of our conversation won't result in me getting angry, but I guarantee you that we _will _work it all out. Every one of us has something to say to you, but we don't hate you, Marshall, so don't bottle up the guilt that I know is eating you up inside. That guilt will only cause you more pain and none of us want that. Allison hurt you enough by putting you into this position and she hurt us by letting us believe you were dead. These have been the worst three months of my life. I never thought anything could hurt as much as losing my Dad until I buried you. I need you to heal and be okay, that's the only thing any of us really needs at the moment," Mary said softly.

Stan and Eleanor had paused outside of the door when they heard Mary talking to Marshall. For a minute they had thought he was awake. When they started to enter the room and noticed Mary watching over her partner's sleeping form, they remained silent until she was finished.

"Mary, we brought you a cup of coffee," Stan said, while he and Eleanor entered as if they had just arrived.

"Thanks, Stan."

"How long before his hair goes back to normal? He looks strange, not like our Marshall." Eleanor couldn't help but say.

"Depends when Marshall dyed it last, but I'm hoping that it's soon. I want all traces of his assignment gone. We could buy him dye to put it back to normal, but all that really matters is he's home and is _neve_r going anywhere again without me," Mary said shooting a warning glare at Stan.

"Trust me, after this mess I fully agree with you," Stan replied.

"Any news on Senator Faber? Has he been arrested?" Mary asked.

"I checked in and was informed the senator killed himself before they could get into the house to arrest him. He found out shortly before they arrived to arrest him. He didn't have enough time to flee. According to the note they found he didn't want to face the jail time," Stan replied.

"What about the people Marshall was sent in to arrest?" Mary asked Stan.

"Octavius and Shady are both in prison. They tried to inform the F.B.I. they didn't hack into the systems and were trying to plea bargain in exchange for Wayne Simmons. Who we affectionately know as Marshal Marshall Mann. The D.O.J. informed them they weren't interested," Stan said.

"What about Marshall?" Mary asked.

"Mary, he was doing his job. Marshall didn't break the law and he brought down Octavius Falcon and Shady along with exposing the Fabers and Allison. He'll need to testify against Octavius and his crew, but that's all there is left for him to do. He did nothing wrong," Stan replied.

"Somehow I don't think Marshall is going to feel that way," Mary said.

"Then we're going to have to make sure he understands that he didn't do anything wrong," Seth replied, entering the room. "It might take some time, but we'll give him the support he needs to understand and hopefully help him work through his insecurities and guilt."

"The biggest thing for us to do is to let him know that if this situation were ever to occur again that he's to come to one of us and let us know what's happening, no matter what he's threatened with. He doesn't need to carry that kind of burden," Stan said.

Mary nodded in understanding then looked to Seth.

"When's Carolyn arriving?"

"She managed to get a ticket for the red eye. I promised to pick her up at the airport," Seth replied.

"I'll stay with Marshall while you get her. If you would like, you can stay at my house instead of a hotel. When Marshall is released he will be staying there also. I assume you and Carolyn would want to stay with him," Mary said.

Seth had to admit he liked Mary's candidness. There was no way his son was escaping her watchful eye anytime soon.

"That's very kind of you and we'd like that as long as Marshall doesn't object to the arrangements," Seth replied.

"Oh, there's not going to be any objecting on Marshall's part at all," Mary said. _I'll hogtie his ass if I have to, but he's staying with me._" Besides, he'll need somewhere to stay since his house is gone."

"Marshall isn't going to be happy when he realizes he lost everything in the explosion," Seth said. He knew the things his son had collected had special meaning to him, not that he completely understood the importance of most of it, but his son did and that's all the mattered. Most of the items lost could be replaced though, but some couldn't. His son would be more upset about the pictures he lost. Those, unfortunately, couldn't be replaced. _Some of them could be though_. Looking at his watch he realized Carolyn would be leaving shortly, he might have enough time to reach her before she left the house.

Mary saw a strange look come over Seth's face as he excused himself to leave to call his wife about something. The words Seth had said ran through Mary's mind. She had an idea on some of the things she could get for Marshall before he came to her place.

"Eleanor, are you up for a shopping trip tomorrow morning?" Mary asked.

"For what?" Eleanor asked suspiciously.

"Clothes, boots, DVD's, iPod, laptop and books."

Eleanor smiled, realizing what Mary was trying to do.

"Give me a list of what you think Marshall needs and I'll pick them up."

"We can actually go get them. I want him to have another cell phone right away and I need to fill out some paperwork at the office for him. Eleanor and I can drop the stuff off at your house before we return, if you want to give me a key," Stan replied.

"Actually, I'm going to send Brandi over to clean up the place for Marshall's parents. I'll ask her to let you in when you arrive," Mary said, before calling her sister. Then she pulled out a list of everything she knew Marshall would need clothes-wise before adding an iTunes gift card so she could load his favorite songs onto his new iPod.

"If there is anything else you think of while we're out, don't hesitate to call us," Eleanor said taking the list.

"Let us know if he wakes up," Stan said as he and Eleanor left.

"Don't worry, partner, we'll get your life back in order in no time. You may not have everything, but I'll make sure you get as much back as possible," Mary whispered while she gently stroked her thumb over his hand. Memories are what mattered most to her partner. His knick knacks, photos and souvenirs all had special meaning to him. She thought about the photos he had in his home. Mary called Peter to help knowing she had some photos Marshall lost that she could ask him to copy."

"Hi Peter, it's Mary. Can I get you to do me a huge favor for Marshall?" Mary asked explaining that Marshall wasn't dead as Brandi apparently hadn't had a chance to.

"What exactly does this huge favor entail?" Peter asked hesitantly.

"It's actually quite simple, really," Mary said while explaining.

"Consider it done. How's Marshall doing?" Peter asked and listened as Mary filled him in. "Give me a couple of hours and I'll take care of it.

"Thank you, Peter. I really appreciate it," Mary said sincerely. Now all she had was a few things to do herself and then Marshall would be taken care of.


	8. Chapter 8

Seth and Carolyn entered Marshall's hospital room to see Mary asleep with her head near Marshall's arm and her hand holding his. Carolyn couldn't stop the tears from falling down.

"He's really alive," Carolyn said, her voice cracking with emotion.

Seth held his wife as the emotions overwhelmed her. Part of him envious of her ability to show her emotions so freely and the other part grateful they were given this moment.

"I wouldn't lie to you about that," Seth replied. "He found his way home. Marshall is a lot tougher than he looks. We have our son back."

Carolyn nodded against Seth's shoulder before pulling away and sitting opposite of Mary. She didn't want to wake her up, but she needed to be able to touch her son.

Reaching out she gently ran a hand through his hair while squeezing Marshall's hand with the other.

"Marshall, my sweet baby boy, welcome home," she whispered before leaning down to kiss his forehead.

Mary heard a voice and her head shot up, looking for any possible threats as she tried to clear the fog of sleep from her mind.

"Relax, Mary. It's just Carolyn and I," Seth said, seeing the frantic way Mary had begun to look around.

It was then Mary noticed Carolyn across from her with tears streaking down her face.

"Marshall will be fine, he just needs some rest," Mary said, trying her best to be reassuring.

"You look exhausted, Mary, why don't you go home and get some sleep. Seth or I will call you when Marshall wakes up," Carolyn replied, seeing the circles under Mary's eyes.

"I'm okay. I'll have to run some errands tomorrow, but I don't want to leave until Marshall wakes up. Stan and Eleanor are going to be by tomorrow morning after getting some things for Marshall and dropping them off at my house," Mary said, explaining what they had come up with while Seth was calling Carolyn. "I can give you a key for my house if you want to drop your things off or rest from your flight."

"I think for now we'll just stay here and watch our son sleep. I don't think any of us are ready to leave him just yet," Carolyn replied.

Mary nodded in understanding as Seth and Carolyn pulled a couple of chairs next to the bed.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Mary woke the next morning to see Carolyn leaning on Seth's shoulder as they watched Marshall. The door to the room opened to reveal Marshall's nurse. Alison. Mary sat up straighter and watched as Alison checked Marshall's vitals.

"How's he doing?" Mary whispered softly.

"Mr. Mann is doing well. The doctor will be in shortly to check on him. I suspect that he would be waking up shortly," the nurse replied.

"Thank you," Mary said sincerely.

Mary studied her partner's face for any sign of movement.

"Come on, Marshall, I need you to wake up and talk about anything. Hell I'll even take your useless trivia and random facts," Mary said.

"Be careful what you wish for. You'll regret saying those words later," Seth said.

"He jokes," Mary said, hearing the teasing tone in Seth's voice.

"I actually laugh and smile on occasions also," Seth replied as he stretched after noticing his wife was awake.

"Sorry, I was just surprised that's all," Mary said.

"Don't worry about it, Mary, most people are," Carolyn replied.

Mary was about to reply when they heard a soft moan come from Marshall.

"Marshall," all three said at the same time.

Marshall heard his name, but was having a hard time getting his eyes to open. They just felt so heavy.

"Come on, partner, you can do it. Show me those blue eyes." Mary coaxed and watched as Marshall struggled to open them. She was trying to be patient and fought the urge to force them open with her fingers. A little while later he managed to open them up. "Welcome back, partner."

"Mare?"

"I'm here and so are your parents. Stan and Eleanor will be by later," Mary replied.

Marshall turned his head away from Mary when he felt someone squeeze his hand.

"Mom, I'm so sorry."

"Hush now, Marshall. We can talk about everything later. You just relax and take it easy. There's nothing to be sorry for," Carolyn said in a soothing voice.

Marshall relaxed at hearing their voices and drifted off to sleep. A couple hours passed when Mary noticed the monitor's indication that Marshall's blood pressure and heart rate were increasing as his head began to thrash back and forth on the pillow.

"Forgive me. Please forgive me. I'm so sorry. Don't hate me," Marshall begged in his sleep.

"Marshall no one hates you. It's okay. Everything is okay. Just relax," Mary said softly.

Carolyn had listened to Mary trying to reassure Marshall. When that didn't work, she gently ran her fingers through his hair as she softly began to sing Marshall's favorites childhood song.

_Rocking Horse Cowboy,__  
__Time to go to bed__  
__Rocking Horse Cowboy,__  
__Rest your weary head__  
__You've been rid'n hard all day__  
__Time for you to hit the hay_

_Some rustlers gave you trouble__  
__When you were rid'n herd__  
__But your six guns drove them all out of sight__  
__So get on your pony,__  
__Drive the strays back to the herd__  
__And bed down your pinto for the night_

_Rockin horse cowboy,__  
__Ride to slumberland__  
__Dream a dream, cowboy,__  
__Of the Rio Grande__  
__You've been ridin hard all day__  
__Time for you to hit the hay_

Marshall relaxed at the sound of his mother's voice. Mary had listened to the words and couldn't help but smile. She could see her partner liking the song. It was as if the song was made for him.

"Marshall always loved that song. It was his favorite. He would make me sing it to him before going to bed or if he wasn't feeling good. His little eyes would sparkle and that silly little grin would light up his face as he fought to stay awake long enough to hear the song end," Carolyn said to Mary.

"Did he have a rocking horse?" Mary asked.

"Oh yeah, Marshall rode that thing into its grave. When he was old enough I would put him in front of me and take him for a ride around the ranch," Seth said, a faint smile passing over his face as he remembered the look of pure joy on his son's face when they would ride.

"Somehow, I have a hard time picturing the two of you ever being close," Mary replied without thinking.

"It didn't last long. The older Marshall got the more we drifted apart. I didn't understand half of what he liked or why. Over time we ended up with a call on Sunday that had nothing to do with anything related to either of us," Seth admitted. "I'm sure Marshall told you about that."

"Something along those lines," Mary replied, not wanting to say anything that might prevent Seth from taking a chance to know his son.

Seth smirked, knowing Mary knew a lot more than she was saying, but wouldn't betray Marshall's trust in her. He respected and liked that about her.

The sun creeping in caught Mary's attention. She figured Marshall would probably sleep for awhile. It would be a good time to go do her errands and be back before Marshall woke up.

"I need to do a few things. Can you call me if he wakes up before I get back?" Mary asked. "I have to stop at my house; I can take your luggage if you want."

"Thank you, Mary. I think we'd appreciate that. I need to do something also. I'll be back in less than an hour," Seth told Carolyn.

"Go, I'll call you both if he wakes up," Carolyn replied.

"Thank you," Mary said as she and Seth left the room. .

"Marshall, my sweet boy, I think your father is finally coming around. Your Dad hurt so much after he lost you, but tried to hide it so that I could grieve. Give him a chance, son, I don't think either of you will be disappointed. I think the same can be said about Mary. I was told she was lost without you. We all were. I love you, Marshall," she whispered before placing a soft kiss on his forehead.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Mary pulled the car into the driveway and grabbed the Mann's suitcase before she noticed Brandi's car parked in front of the house. Her sister opened the door as she approached.

"Thanks, Brandi for taking care of the guest room," Mary said, walking into the living room.

"So, Marshall is really alive. How pissed were you at him for keeping it a secret?" Brandi asked Mary.

Mary hesitated before answering. She wasn't the girl talk kind of person, but Brandi helped her out and had tried to be there for her after Marshall 'died'.

"I wasn't. The weird part was the minute I saw him I was so relieved he was alive that I couldn't even think about anything other than he was actually there. When did I start getting mushy?"

"When you thought Marshall died. You lost the single most important person in your life," Brandi said, smiling. "What did you say to him?"

Mary thought back to it and realized the words she had whispered over and over. They really were going to need to have a long conversation.

'My Marshall'. It's all I could think of when I held him."

"This is your chance to tell him how you feel, Mary. You've run from it for far too long and now you know what it would be like to never say the words to Marshall's face. I was wrong when I said Raph was the best that you could do. Marshall is your partner in everything that counts. You just need to complete a few more steps before he's your partner in every possible meaning of the word. How's he doing?" Brandi asked.

"He's been through a lot physically and emotionally. Marshall is scared that we are all going to hate him. He kept begging for our forgiveness. It hurt to see him that way, it wasn't him. Marshall knew he was following orders," Mary said, finally admitting to herself how hard it had been to watch his torment.

"Do you blame him for what happened?" Brandi asked.

"No, he wasn't given a choice," Mary said.

"Then tell him that you love him and don't let your worry turn into anger. Do what he does for you," Brandi replied.

"Ask him what he needs. When did you get so smart?" Mary asked.

"Snuck up on you, didn't it? What are you doing here instead of the hospital?"

"I wanted to see if Stan and Eleanor had dropped off the iPod so I could load his music on there. Once he starts to get antsy he'll need something to keep him occupied. Besides, music helps him to relax. I also wanted to go online and order him some more of his wacky pajama bottoms that he loves so much," Mary shrugged.

"I had Stan and Eleanor put Marshall's things in your bedroom. Tell Marshall that Peter and I wish him a speedy recovery," Brandi said heading towards the door.

"Will do. Thanks again, Brandi. It means a lot to me," Mary replied before heading to her computer. Mary had downloaded Marshall's music and was laughing hysterically at the pajama bottoms she found for Marshall when her cell began to ring.

"Shannon."

"He's awake," Stan replied.

"How's he doing?" Mary asked, finishing her purchase and shutting down the computer.

"According to Carolyn he slept peacefully before waking up. I think he's not sure completely how to act around us. He was looking for you. Didn't say anything, but was scanning the room," Stan said.

"I'm on my way. I was just taking care of a couple of things. Tell Doofus to hold his horses."

"I'll pass the message. See you in a few, Mary."

"Ten minutes tops, Stan."

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Carolyn watched as Marshall stared at them, waiting for something. She wasn't sure what, but something was wrong.

"What's wrong, Marshall?"

"Nothing, Mom. I'm still tired, that's all," he shrugged his shoulder and grimaced in pain.

Seth noticed that Marshall really wasn't looking at any of them. He would cast a quick glance, but look away when he noticed they caught him. Seth was about to say something when Mary came into the room.

"Marshall, you should have told me you were having a party, I would've brought pie."

"Hey, Mary. Didn't know I was."

Seth continued to watch Marshall; he still wasn't really looking at any of them. He had hoped he would at least look at Mary.

"Well we'll just have to get you pie later. I did bring something for you though," Mary said, handing him the iPod.

"It survived?" Marshall asked, surprised, while accepting it from Mary.

"Not exactly, but you should have most of your favorite songs. We still have dollars left to upload anything I missed," Mary replied.

"Why?" Marshall asked, confused.

"Why what?" Mary asked also confused.

"Why are you being so nice? Why aren't any of you yelling at me yet?" Marshall replied.

"Now you know why I call you Doofus," Mary said exasperated. "Marshall, Allison and the Fabers threatened to take away what means the most in this world to you. You were forced into something that you didn't want to do and left out to dry. You did all of this to protect us. We don't hate you and we're not mad at you. If anything, I'm pissed at Allison and the Fabers for doing this to all of us. We just want to give you back some of the things she took from you. We can't do that with your house or the time that you were away from us, but we can give you back some of the little things you lost."

"But…" Marshall started, just to have his Dad interrupt him.

"You expected the worse from us. You convinced yourself that we wouldn't be able to accept that you went through with faking of your death without severe repercussions for letting us believe you were dead. I won't lie and tell you that the last three months haven't been difficult, because they were the most difficult months of all of our lives. No one here is anything but grateful that you're alive. We will definitely talk about what happened, but the outcome will still be the same. We love you, Marshall, and you being here with us again is all that matters to us," Seth said honestly, knowing Marshall would need to hear the truth. It was time for him to be more open and honest with his son, it would be the only way for them to become closer.

Marshall still wasn't completely sure what to think. Those were probably the most words he had ever heard his father speak to him.

"Marshall, look at me please," Carolyn said, knowing he was going to over think everything for now. "Just let it all go for now. We'll deal with things as they come up, but for now you need to heal and rest. Stop trying to analyze everything and just try and relax for us."

Marshall looked to Stan.

"Listen to your parents and Mary. We're just happy that you're alive. Everything else can be worked through later. Right now you need to focus on you. We can talk later, but your Dad is right. Nothing will change the way we think or feel about you."

Marshall nodded briefly before quickly glancing at Mary. He lifted the iPod. "Thanks, Mare."

"Anytime, partner. Now why don't you close your eyes and get some more sleep while I shoo your parents to my place for sleep. When you wake up I'll be here. I promise," Mary said.

"Mare, it's not polite to threaten the injured with your presence when they wake," Eleanor teased trying to lighten up the mood in the room.

"See how she is?" Mary said to Marshall.

"You wouldn't like it any other way," Marshall replied before a huge yawn escaped.

"Go to sleep, Marshall," Mary said, smiling at the fact he at least tried a comeback. It wasn't his normal witty self, but it was a start.

The minute he was asleep Mary passed a key to her house to Seth and Carolyn.

"Go get some sleep. I won't leave him alone," Mary said.

"Alright, thank you, Mary," Seth said accepting the key while Stan and Eleanor offered to show them how to get there.

"Eleanor and I will be back later. I have to do some paperwork and give some information to the F.B.I. You try and get some sleep also. When Eleanor and I return, you are going to go home and get some sleep also," Stan replied.

"I'm not leaving him again. I did my errands and I'm staying until he leaves," Mary replied adamantly.

"Mary, you need to sleep in a real bed. Marshall needs you to be you," Stan reminded.

"I'm well aware of that and I'm not leaving. I'll sleep on a cot if I have to, but until he gets wheeled out of this hospital, I won't be leaving," Mary insisted. Prepared to sleep in the chair if necessary.

"Mare, you should sleep," Marshall said softly.

"You're supposed to be asleep." Mary reminded.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Carolyn and Seth entered Marshall's room the following morning to see the two partners sound asleep. Seth raised an eyebrow at the situation while Carolyn just smiled and moved to sit next to the bed as Seth gazed at Mary asleep in the chair with her head resting on his son's chest and her hand intertwined with Marshall's.

"Seth, get over here. One of them is bound to wake up pretty soon." Carolyn was

"Don't you think Stan is going to be suspicious if he sees them together like this. I get the fact they care about each other deeply, but the job frowns on this," Seth said.

"They are where they need to be and I think Stan is all for the two of them getting together. Stop passing judgment on your son. You promised you were going to try and change," Carolyn reminded.

Seth thought about his wife's words and realized Carolyn was right, he was judging again.

"This is going to be harder than I thought," Seth muttered.

"It will be well worth it to have your son back. Marshall has always marched to his own beat and there is nothing wrong with that. You're going to have to open yourself up to new ideas and things in order to get to know him better," Carolyn said.

"I know, and I have every intention of it, but I can't promise I won't stumble along the way," Seth replied.

"Mom, Dad?" Marshall said groggily, several hours later.

"Feeling better?" Seth asked.

"A little," Marshall replied before looking down seeing Mary asleep on his arm.

"Don't move your arm or you'll wake her," Carolyn cautioned her son.

"Listen to your mother, Doofus. I'm comfy and haven't had any coffee yet," Mary mumbled into his arm.

"Good Morning, Sunshine," Marshall teased lightly.

"Good Afternoon, would be more correct," Stan said, entering the room.

"You lose someone?" Mary asked, noting Eleanor's absence.

"No. Eleanor got called back to work," Stan replied. Then he looked to Carolyn. "Carolyn…"

"Stop, I know the drill. You need to talk about what happened. I'll just go down to the cafeteria. Seth can come and get me when I can come back," Carolyn said.

"Thank you," Stan replied, feeling bad for having to make her leave Marshall's side. Once Carolyn left the room, Stan grabbed a chair next to Marshall.

"You want me to debrief you on everything that happened while I was gone," Marshall said flatly.

"If you are up to it, I need to have the reports done soon. In lieu of everything that has happened, the police and FBI want all the information before pressing charges against Allison and the others and I have to turn in my reports," Stan said.

"What about Mike and the Senator?" Marshall asked.

"They're both dead," Seth said before explaining what happened.

"Where do you want me to start?" Marshall asked.

"From the first point Allison made contact with you," Stan replied. "We have the audio and video that you made, but not everything is on there and I need to have the blanks filled in."

"It started with the text Allison sent me about the prison transport," Marshall said before filling Stan in on everything that happened while he was gone. He finished his story and waited to see what the fallout would be.

Stan as watched as Marshall's finger fidgeted with the blanket on his bed.

"Marshall, look at me please," Stan said, waiting for Marshall to do as he asked. Once he had his inspector's attention he began. "If anyone ever tells you to do something that you question again, you come to me. While I understand that you took this assignment, for lack of better term, to keep the rest of us safe, it wasn't a burden you should have had to carry alone. I don't care if they threaten to kill me, take away my pension or anything else, my door is always open to you and I expect you to use it from now on. They set you up to die, and that isn't acceptable under any circumstances. I realize dying is a risk of the job, but not like this. It was so far beyond being wrong that it still boggles my mind. Not one of us blames you for what you did, but from now on you come to any one of us. We can't go through this again. Okay?"

Marshall took a deep breath before speaking, "I'm sorry I hurt all of you. Maybe you expect me to tell you I'm sorry about the choice I made, but I can't. To me, my life for the three of yours was well worth it. I didn't know how closely Allison was keeping an eye on any of you and didn't want to risk your lives. I couldn't live with myself knowing I had caused any of you to die."

Mary was a combination of pissed off and touched about Marshall's statement. Anger, as always, won out.

"You pretending to be dead or dying aren't acceptable options. Damn it, Marshall. Do you have any idea how much it hurt to lose you? We buried you and were forced to deal with a future without you. We are partners and you Stan and I have been a team for a long time. You will _**never**_ put yourself into this position again. The three of us are going to come up with an alternative way to inform each other if something were to happen and we need to get a message to each other. I don't care if it's morse freaking code," Mary said, pacing back before realizing that she'd let her anger take over. Taking a deep breath she started to calm herself down.

"Mare…" Marshall started, but was cut off immediately.

"I'm sorry, but Marshall you can't ever do that to us again." Mary saw Marshall's smirk. "What?"

"You just said the word sorry. You never say that," Marshall replied.

"Well don't expect to hear that again. It's a once in a lifetime experience," Mary said, lightly hitting his arm.

"Marshall, Mary is right. Just come to us when something is off or feels wrong. There hasn't been anything that we haven't been able to solve so far," Stan added.

"I will. I promise," Marshall replied.

Seth cleared his throat briefly and Marshall looked towards him.

"If you can't get a hold of Mary or Stan, I want you to know that you can call me. I will be there for you, if you need me," Seth said.

"Thanks, Dad," Marshall replied, unsure of how to answer.

"So how soon before we can break you out of this place? We need to get you some real food and pie," Mary teased, trying to break the uncomfortable silence between father and son. She knew they were both trying, but there was a huge bridge to cross for them.

.


	9. Chapter 9

Stan sat with Marshall as Mary, Carolyn and Seth headed to the cafeteria for something to eat.

Marshall was staring at the door they walked out of and fidgeting with his blankets.

"What's wrong?" Stan asked, knowing full well something was bothering his surrogate son.

"I think Mary's angry with me, but just covering it up to make me feel better," Marshall replied.

"Marshall, Mary is trying to be a better person. Think about what she said. She's angry, but not at you…" Stan started before Marshall interrupted.

"She has every right to be angry with me, Stan. You all do," Marshall said.

"Guilt is absent when the act is justified. You once said that to a witness, who felt guilty for surviving when her friend didn't. It also applies for what you went through. It's not the only thing bothering you though. Talk to me, Marshall," Stan replied.

"Mary knows how I feel about her," Marshall whispered softly.

"Yes, she does. Mary also knows how she feels about you. Time is a precious gift, Marshall, don't waste it. The two of you need to sit down and talk everything through. Mary's done a lot of growing since you left. You'd be very proud of some of her changes. She's learned to open up a little more to others. Mostly me, but for her that's a giant step. She also learned what it's like to lose someone that means more to her than she realized without getting a chance to say goodbye. Trust me Marshall, everything will be fine. Not that you won't have some rough patches, you always do. She won't run away from you," Stan said knowingly.

"Are you sure about that?" Marshall asked.

"Yes. Stop worrying so much about everything and everyone else. Let's just concentrate on you getting better," Stan said.

"How do you like that? For once the boss is right," Mary replied, leaning against the door.

"Where's Dad?" Marshall asked, hoping she didn't overhear his conversation with Stan.

"He's with your Mom, they stopped at the gift store," Mary replied, knowing whatever Stan and Marshall had been talking about had her partner concerned.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

The next morning Mary entered the hospital room to see Marshall dressed and anxiously waiting to be released. Hospitals held too many bad memories for the both of them so getting out was always a priority.

"Ready to leave?" Mary asked, amused.

"They're bringing the discharge papers and then we're free to leave," Marshall replied, before realizing that he didn't have anywhere to go.

Mary noticed the frown on Marshall's face. "What's wrong? Do I need to get the doctor?"

"She blew up my house. Where am I going to go?" Marshall asked, sounding lost.

Mary's eyes widened in surprise, with everything that happened yesterday they forget to tell her partner that he was staying at her place.

"My place. You're parents are already there in one of the spare rooms. You'll be staying with me while you recover," Mary replied.

"Mare, I don't want to intrude. You haven't had the house to yourself for very long," Marshall said.

"You're never an intrusion. You're actually one of the few people I don't mind sharing my house with," Mary replied, as the nurse came in with the paperwork.

"Are you sure?" Marshall asked.

"Positive, I can keep an eye on you and you'll be able to stay out of trouble. Everything is already set up for you," Mary replied.

"I won't stay long. I'll get out of your hair as soon as I can find a new house," Marshall said.

"You aren't going to be in my way. You don't even have to rush to find somewhere else to live. I won't even let you look for a house until you're fully healed," Mary cautioned, while thinking if all goes as plan he won't be leaving her house. "Let's get you home."

Marshall nodded his agreement and stood up as the nurse brought in the wheelchair.

"Hop in, partner," Mary smiled in delight.

"I'm fine. I can walk," Marshall said to the nurse.

"Hospital policy," the nurse replied.

"Stop smirking, Mare," Marshall said not even looking, knowing full well that she was.

"Who me?" Mary asked, feigning surprise.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Mary pulled up in her driveway and couldn't help but smile at Marshall sleeping against the window. Not wanting to wake him just yet she turned off the car and opened the trunk to get his away bag. Stan walked out to make sure everything was alright when he didn't see Marshall get out of the car.

"Mary?"

Mary heard the concern in Stan's voice and put a finger to her lips silencing Stan while pointing to Marshall sleeping.

"How early was he up trying to get out of the hospital?" Stan asked.

"Not sure. Marshall was dressed and ready when I arrived." Mary shrugged and passed Stan the bag before opening the passenger door and unbuckling the seatbelt.

"Marshall," she said, gently shaking his shoulder. "Marshall."

Marshall finally stirred after the second calling of his name.

"Mare?"

"We've arrived at Casa del Shannon," Mary smiled.

Marshall couldn't believe he fell asleep on the drive over.

"Sorry, I guess I wasn't much company."

"Your body needs its rest. The doctor warned you that you'd be tired. In order for you to heal properly you need to follow the instructions they gave you before we left," Mary said.

Marshall rolled his eyes. "You've been wanting to say that to me for a long time, haven't you?"

"Every single time that you've ever told me that. Kind of nice when the shoe is on the other foot," Mary teased lightly. She had missed their banter. "I should warn you though, we've got company."

"Who?"

"Besides the obvious group of your parents and Stan. Brandi, Peter, Bobby and Eleanor have all decided to join us. Your brothers and Jack couldn't make it, but wish you a speedy recovery. They expect phone calls later from you," Mary informed.

"So two lectures and one I'm glad you're alive, buddy," Marshall said softly.

"Marshall, stop it. Your brothers are happy that you're alive, also. Don't make me have to beat some common sense into you. I might enjoy the release of tension," Mary replied before they entered the house.

"Welcome home, Marshall!" Brandi squealed excitedly. She was thrilled to see her sister's partner alive. Her reasoning may be two-fold; part of it was because she was happy to see him and the other was because she had her sister back. The one she actually knew how to relate to.

"Thanks, Brandi," Marshall said, accepting her hug. The rest of the group moved in to shake hands and hug their friend.

"Alright, enough manhandling my partner. Marshall, go sit or lie down on the couch unless you prefer to go to bed," Mary ordered.

Stan and Seth both smiled as Marshall rolled his eyes and moved to the couch.

"Mary's going to be worse than your mother," Seth said, sitting next to Marshall.

"How long are you and Mom staying?" Marshall asked, wondering briefly how badly he was going to be smothered.

"Don't worry, if they become too much, I'll help you escape for a little while. We'll be here for a week," Seth replied.

Marshall was surprised by his father's reply and knew he didn't cover it quickly enough.

"You and I will have a discussion later. There are things we need to work on, but for now let's just enjoy the fact that you're home," Seth said, trying to reassure Marshall the only way he knew how.

Everyone stayed for a couple of hours. Once Marshall started yawning the group slowly began to leave until it was just Mary, his parents, Stan and Eleanor.

"Before you get too tired there is something that I need to give you. Then it's medication and bed time for you, Doofus," Mary said, eagerly bringing out her laundry basket.

"Thanks, you brought me laundry," Marshall said sarcastically.

"You know I'm not a giver. Look at what's in the basket and be grateful they are all washed and ready to wear," Mary said, glaring at Marshall.

Marshall looked into the basket and couldn't help but smile. She had done a pretty decent job of refurbishing his old pajama bottoms.

"I put a lot of effort into this so you better pull each one out and look at them," Mary said, refusing to admit how much fun it was.

Eleanor's curiosity was peaked. "You're going to have to show us. Mary's smiling, which means she secretly enjoyed it."

Mary threw a glare at Eleanor. She still swore the woman was a spook.

The first pair he pulled out were covered in pretzels and said 'twisted', next was a Captain Morgan's Born to Rum, a couple of Star Wars pairs, Frosted Flakes, Mr. Potato Head, handcuffs, one covered with hot dogs that said 'plump and juicy', a pair that said 'got gas' and had gas pumps on them, a Woody Woodpecker pair, and lastly a pair with monkeys on them that said 'Go Ahead and Pet My Monkey.'

Eleanor and Mary were laughing at the way Marshall's neck turned red in embarrassment at the monkey and the hot dog pair.

"Thanks, Mare," Marshall said, trying not to look at his parents.

"Well grab a pair and let's get you to your room," Mary said, smiling in delight, before following him as he headed down the hall. "There are three more pairs, but we'll discuss them after your parents leave. Just for the record, you're staying in my room."

"Mare, I can just take the other bedroom," Marshall replied, not wanting to put her out.

"I don't care that you're parents are here and I don't care if they like the fact that you and I are going to be sharing a room. I have no intention of letting you out of my sight. They'll learn to live with it," Mary knew his parents didn't care. They knew she was working on setting up the other room with more items to replace what Marshall lost.

"How much do I owe you for the clothes, iPod and pajamas?" Marshall asked.

"Nothing. We bought them for you Marshall. No strings attached," Mary said honestly.

"Here I was thinking you wanted to pet my monkey," Marshall said, before laughing at the shocked look on Mary's face.

Mary was so stunned he said that she just watched him head into her bathroom to change. A few seconds later she smirked and whispered softly, "welcome back, partner."

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Marshall woke up to an eerily silent house and a ceiling he didn't recognize. Briefly he felt himself panic at the thought that he had been dreaming that he was back in Albuquerque. He quickly searched the room and saw the picture Mary had of them at an office picnic. It was one of his favorite photos. Mary was smiling a real, genuine smile. She looked happy in the photo and they had been having fun making comments about the other marshals that were there. Getting up, he headed out towards the living room to see Stan watching TV with the volume low.

Stan heard the footsteps behind him and looked to see a slightly disheveled Marshall.

"Sleep well?" Stan asked.

"Yeah. Where is everyone?"

"Mary had to deal with a witness, Eleanor is at the F.B.I. office finishing her transfer back to Albuquerque paperwork and your parents went to get groceries after looking in Mary's fridge. I think it might have traumatized your mother when she opened the fridge door," Stan replied.

Marshall smirked, but his mind was debating on asking Stan a few questions. He couldn't decide if he wanted to know the answers or not.

"Ask, Marshall. I promise to answer as honestly as possible," Stan said, knowing Marshall was over thinking something.

"How was Mary, really?"

"She's a lot better now than she was before. She took your death extremely hard and it opened her eyes to a lot of things she'd missed over the years. I honestly don't know if she would've stayed in WITSEC without you there. I'm not sure either of us wanted to be here without you," Stan replied honestly, knowing Marshall needed the truth. Sugarcoating wouldn't help put this behind all of them.

Marshall looked at Stan. "You would've left?"

"I honestly thought about retiring. I couldn't lose another child to the job. You were right about me being a surrogate father. You and Mary are the children I never had. Losing you was hard enough. I didn't think I could sit and watch Mary fade away until she made a bad decision that got her killed. She was lost without you. You keep her grounded. She finally realized just how much of a role you have in her life. She's already returning back to her old self now that you're home. You will be watched like a hawk though. Mary isn't going to let you out of her sights again any time soon. We're all going to be a little overprotective. It's just the way it is," Stan said firmly.

"I think I can handle that," Marshall replied.

"Good. Do you want the Discovery Channel or the History Channel?" Stan asked, settling into the sofa.

Mary was the first to come back to the house. Marshall was sound asleep on the couch and Stan was watching the History channel intently.

"Must you indulge him on that? You know it only leads to me suffering more." Mary teased Stan.

"It makes him happy, besides it's actually interesting if you'd bother to pay attention," Stan said.

Mary sat in the chair nearest the sofa and began gently running her fingers through Marshall's hair. The black was fading out of it.

"Is Marshall okay?" Mary asked, concerned by the amount of time he'd been sleeping.

"Worn out. Probably more emotionally than anything else. We both know full well the guilt had to be eating him alive and that your partner would've kept pushing himself to get the job done so he could come home and make amends. The odds of him sleeping well on this assignment are slim to none. We both know that and who knows if it started before then. You heard what the doctor said and repeated it to Marshall," Stan replied.

"I know, it's just not him. Marshall is usually at least doing something. I just want him back to who he was before this happened. I want my Marshall completely back," Mary said.

"You still need to talk to him." Stan reminded her, knowing she probably missed her calling her partner hers.

"I know, and when everyone is gone, we'll have that talk. Ours is more complicated then the rest."

"Don't hurt him, Mary, he's been through enough. If he isn't what you want then let him down gently. He'll survive it, but he'll need time to heal," Stan replied.

"I'm not going to run from him or us, Stan. I never realized I loved him. How could I have been so blind?" Mary couldn't believe she admitted that to Stan. Though since Marshall's death, Stan became the person she could talk to.

"He's been your best friend for so long that you got used to Marshall standing by your side. It never occurred to you to look for what he was offering. Plus, deep down you always knew, but were too scared to admit it. You needed time to sort through the rest of your troubles before you could accept Marshall into your heart completely. You went with simple and uncomplicated because you could function that way. Marshall is the one thing in this world that you have always needed and wanted, but you kept pushing it out of your mind. You were scared he'd leave you. He's not your father, Mary. Marshall won't abandon you, because if he was that kind of man, he would've left a long time ago," Stan replied.

"He's pretty hard to get rid of. No matter how hard I tried, he stayed," Mary said, smiling at the thought of all Marshall had done for her.

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Later that night Mary was watching Carolyn make supper. Mary quickly glanced out into the living room and noticed Seth enter and sit next to Marshall. A part of her wanted to go out and play buffer.

"Seth won't hurt Marshall, Mary. They need to talk, if they're ever going to get to know each other. I know it's hard to sit back, but you need to for their sake. We're leaving in the morning, they need to have this conversation," Carolyn said, trying to ease Mary's worries.

Mary took a deep breath and nodded, turning her attention back to watching Carolyn prepare supper. She was going to miss Marshall's Mom.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Seth looked at his son, before taking a deep breath to calm his nerves. He was nervous about messing this opportunity up.

"Marshall, I know that you and I have had a lot of differences over the years. I haven't been the greatest father to you. I've been judgmental and rather unsupportive in the choices that you've made for yourself. You have proven me wrong time and time again. I'm not sure how you would feel about taking a chance on us to get the chance to know each other. It would mean the world to me if we could try. I may not be able to relate to you as well as your brothers, but I would at least like to know who you are. I don't want to ever lose you again without having tried to become closer to you. There are a lot of things I've never said out loud, but I need you to know that I love you and I'm very proud of the man that you've become."

"I know that you wanted a different life for me. I like being a U.S. Marshal and I enjoy what I do. I think maybe we've spent too much time looking at the things we don't have in common. I'd like a chance to get to know you better, but I'm not sure that you're going to be thrilled with what you see in me," Marshall replied honestly.

"I see my son. A man who has done more than I ever imagined capable in a career I always deemed unfit for him. You have always had a natural curiosity to learn new things and that makes you more open minded. I don't understand it, but it works for you. We can find a middle ground if we try and I guarantee you I won't be disappointed. I'm going to go see how supper is coming along. Is there anything you need from the kitchen?" Seth asked, knowing that for now that was as much of a speech the two could handle. It would be a slow process for them with many obstacles to overcome. Most of them would be their own opinions of what was best, but with a little work they could do this.

Marshall stared at his Dad's retreating form. A part of him hopeful for what he had missed out on as a child, another part still worried despite reassurances that they could make this work. He hoped his Dad was right. It would be nice if they could actually talk to each other instead of around things.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Mary and Marshall drove Seth and Carolyn to the airport the next morning. They helped them with their bags and waited while they checked in.

Carolyn hugged both of them goodbye. "Take care of my boy," she whispered into Mary's ear.

"Always." Mary promised.

Seth pulled Marshall into a hug. It was odd for both of them, but they were trying.

"Take care of yourself, and call us if you need anything. I'll talk to you on Sunday," Seth said.

"Take care of yourself and Mom. I promise I'll call," Marshall said, pulling back. They watched as his parents walked out of sight.

"So, ready to go home?" Mary asked.

"Yeah," Marshall said, hesitantly. This was the talk he dreaded the most.

Mary noticed Marshall was silent the entire ride back. He was worried about what she was going to say. She hated that he was this uneasy about their upcoming conversation.

"Sit on the couch." Mary commanded as they entered the house.

Mary took a deep breath and then sat on the coffee table in front of him. They needed to be close so he couldn't turn away from her. She knew if he was uncomfortable with the topic he would look away. She needed to see his eyes. They were the windows to his soul and where the truth could always be found.

"We have so much to discuss that I have no clue where to start. So I'll start with the letter. I'm thinking we'll work up to the complicated stuff. There was no need to apologize for dying on me. I know that you wouldn't leave this earth without a fight. You were right about both Raph and Faber. I think Faber irritated me more when you were gone. The jerk tried to hit on me instead of solving your case. Though now that we know he was involved, that would explain it more. I don't know that I could ever completely let you go, Marshall. I thought about leaving WITSEC. Without you, Stan and I were lost. We had one goal and that was to find your killer, but after that, I don't know that we could've stayed in the office with your empty desk haunting us. You might have been right about high school you, but we'll leave it at that. We can't afford to swell that brain of yours. I don't think I could've found happiness without you here. The only time happy is or has ever been a part of me is when you're with me. I tried to deny what your Mom told me and what the letter said. I didn't want to believe it. I didn't want to know that I'd been hurting you for so many years."

"Mare, you don't have to say anything. I'm okay with just being your friend. I don't want to lose that too." Marshall began, but Mary covered his mouth with her hand.

"I'm not done yet. You have to wait your turn," she chastised him. "Marshall, I didn't want to believe it because it meant that I truly was oblivious to you and your feelings. We have been partners for seven years. I know you, but I didn't know that or maybe I did and was too scared to admit it to myself. You're the one person in this world that isn't allowed to leave me. I was struggling to function without the person that balances me. I went to the cemetery when I needed to feel closer to you. I finally realized that I loved you, but you were gone. That was my biggest regret, never telling you how much you mean to me. I know how I feel and how you feel, but I also know we have to take this slowly or I could really make a mess of it. I want to give us a try. I want complicated and messy, but only if that equation leads me to you."

Marshall felt the tear trickle down his cheek.

"I can learn to do messy, but you will need to get used to the fact that I like to clean messy up to make things neat. You know how I feel about stuff lying over the place," Marshall teased.

"You've always picked up after me. I can live with that, wacky pajamas, science fiction, comic books and Star Trek. I'm not going to any conventions, no matter how hard you beg, plead, or whatever else you might try. I can't live without you here in this world. You need to promise me one thing and one thing only. I'm sure this request is nothing you haven't heard before. We all probably sound like a broken record at this point. You need to tell me if you ever get put on a secret assignment or if something feels wrong that you'll come to me. I don't care what you're threatened with; we'll handle the fall out together. I need to hear you say that," Mary said.

"I almost called you in New Orleans. I kept palming my burn phone wanting to dial and hear your voice. I wanted to know that we'd be okay if I returned. The shooting happened as I thought about it. I promise that I'll try to never put you through something like this again, but you and I both know that had the roles been reversed, you would've done the same thing. We protect each other Mare, we always have," Marshall replied honestly.

"I know that I would've done the same thing, but we can't do this to each other. I now know how much it hurts. From now on we do everything together." Mary insisted on this one thing.

"Define everything," Marshall said.

Mary tried to fight the smirk, but couldn't. "Mind out of the gutter, perv."

"You're no fun," Marshall smiled.

"Sure I am, look at the pajama bottoms I gave you, and the other pairs I have yet to show you."

"What are they?" Marshall asked, remembering her statement earlier.

"Feeling Lucky, Warning: Contents May Be Hot and Satisfaction Guaranteed. I expect you to live up to the pajama bottoms, but not until your fully healed. If we're getting lucky then I want full usage of your body." Mary smiled at the look on his face. She knew he was calculating how long before he would find out.

"Tease," he said once he reached his conclusion.

"I don't make promises I don't intend to keep." Mary moved in to capture his lips. As the kiss deepened she felt a spark light up inside of her. This is what she had been missing all this time. Coming up for air she leaned her forehead against his.

"I love you, Mare."

"I love you, my Marshall." Mary said before claiming his lips.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Marshall had been back on the job for a year. His relationship with Mary was moving forward nicely. Marshall was going to find an apartment, but Mary insisted he stay with her. It would save them both a lot of time and effort. He agreed, but only with the rule that he stay in the guest room, much to Mary's dismay. On their six month anniversary, they determined he was to move into her bedroom. Mary was ecstatic and pulled out his satisfaction guaranteed bottoms. Marshall laughed but made sure he lived up to the pajamas.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Six more months passed and Mary, Marshall and Stan went to go get a witness who was playing with explosives with an old friend, who suddenly turned up in New Mexico. Stan and Mary entered the front of the house while Marshall headed around to the back door. Their witnesses' friend made a hasty dash for the back door and Mary yelled out to Marshall. The man flew down the stairs and Marshall pursued him behind a garage.

Stan and Mary were dressing down the witness when they heard an explosion come from out back. Mary thought her heart had stopped and from the pale look on Stan's face she could tell he was thinking the same thing. Stan and Mary shoved the witness at another marshal and ran out the back door. Memories of a year ago began flooding their minds.

"Marshall!" Mary yelled, when she didn't see him right away.

"Damn it!" Marshall said irritably, coming into their view and messing with his jeans.

Stan and Mary both let out a sigh of relief as they saw Marshall; covered in dirt and wood pieces. He looked up and noticed the two staring at him oddly.

"What?" Marshall asked, confused.

"Stay away from things that blow up." Mary hissed, when she realized her hands were shaking.

Marshall felt his eyes widen as it dawned on him what they must have thought.

"I'm fine, but we need to go to the mall," Marshall said to Mary.

"Why?" She asked irritably. He knew she hated the mall.

"I need a new pair of jeans. I ripped my brand new ones tackling this idiot while he blew up the tree stump," Marshall stated.

Mary felt the tension leave her body as she knew he truly was okay. "And?"

"My movie was just released on Blue Ray," Marshall said, hopefully.

"Fine, Doofus." She really didn't mind as long as he was okay. "Any other casualties besides the jeans?"

"Nope," Marshall said.

They took care of the scene and processed the paperwork. Marshall took Mary to the mall and bought his jeans. While she stopped in the bathroom, he ran to the jewelry store to pick up his other purchase.

Marshall waited for Mary outside the restroom.

"Are we done?" Mary asked, wanting to get out of the mall.

"Yes, we can escape the torturous mall," Marshall said, lifting up the bag with the DVD he bought. The real reason for the trip hidden in the bag with his jeans.

They headed home, and when Mary walked into the kitchen she noticed the table set and food waiting for them.

"Alright what's going on?" Mary asked.

"Supper, it's been a year since we started living together."

"A year and a half," Mary replied, thinking she'd bested him.

"No, a year since I moved from the guest room to our room," Marshall reminded.

Mary smiled at that thought and leaned up and kissed Marshall. They sat down and enjoyed their steak dinner and wine before Marshall led her into the living room. He put an arm around her as they watched his movie.

When the movie ended Marshall handed Mary the package from the jewelry store. Mary looked at him oddly before opening it.

"Marshall?" She knew what it was, but was surprised about the casual approach.

"I know you don't like fancy dinners or rings baked into cupcakes. You're more comfortable in an easy going manner. You love steak dinners almost as much as you like BBQ ribs. The ring is simple and will not get in the way on any bust or brawl you may need to get into. It's my pledge of love and fidelity to you for the rest of our lives. It's the second to last step we started a year ago today. The last step will be the wedding. I love you, Mary Elizabeth Shannon and want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"

Mary was mortified to find herself getting teary over this. Marshall had proposed the one way that would make her comfortable and at ease. She wasn't scared and didn't want to run from him. The ring was perfect and so was the proposal.

"I love you, Marshall Seth Mann and want to spend the rest of my life with you. The ring is beautiful and everything I could ever want. I will definitely marry you," Mary smiled as Marshall slid the ring on her finger and leaned in for a kiss. She couldn't help but think to his pajama bottoms; she had definitely gotten lucky and was completely satisfied.


End file.
